You Don't Have to be Alone
by TMNTfan1
Summary: Kori Black's life isn't what everyone thinks it is, but she doesn't want anyone's help. It's her problems, she doesn't want anyone to be dragged into it. Her brother's too busy with Bella to even notice that something's wrong. Can her best friend and an unexpected wolf help her? (beginning of the story takes place near the end of New Moon) Rated T
1. Loner

Chapter 1

Loner

The pack ate noisily, talking about this and that at their lunch table. Jacob was quieter than the others, his head completely absorbed in Bella Swan, as usual.

The members at the school lunch table consisted of Jared, his imprint Kim, and Paul on one side, and Jacob and Embry sitting across from them. Quil had phased a couple days ago, but he was staying at Emily's learning to control his emotions.

"Jacob. Jake? Hey, Jake." a fry hit his forehead, making him look up.

"What?" he asked, looking across the table where Kim was sitting next to Jared, their chairs pressed together with his arm around her.

"I said, isn't that your sister over there?" Kim repeated, pointing to a table only a few tables from them. Jake looked over his shoulder to see. At the table sat a familiar, young girl. Her slightly wavy, black hair went down to the middle of her back, she was wearing faded blue jeans and a blue jacket over a black tank top. Kori Black was sitting at one of the round tables all by herself.

Jake blinked before narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Yeah, it is." he answered, not sure why she was by herself.

"Why's she sitting alone?" Embry asked, having looked over his shoulder to see also.

"Maybe she doesn't have any friends." Paul suggested, stuffing a handful of fries in his mouth. Everyone at the table glared at him.

"Dude." Embry muttered, shaking his head as he couldn't believe the temperamental wolf had actually said that.

"What? Why else would she be sitting by herself? Obviously, no one wants to sit with her." Paul pointed out, defending himself.

"Maybe we could invite her to sit with us. We have enough room." Kim suggested, gesturing with her hand at the long, rectangular table they sat at every day, which had twelve seats.

"Uh, no." Paul answered, "She's not a member of the pack, therefore, she doesn't deserve to sit here."

"I'm not a member of the pack either." Kim pointed out, her quiet voice only a bit louder than usual. Jared tightened his grip on her, feeling that she was slightly hurt.

"That's different. You're an imprint. Kori's just Baby Alpha's annoying little freshman sister." Paul answered, nodding his head towards Jacob, earning a growl from the rightful Alpha.

"I agree with Kim. I think we should invite Kori to sit with us." Jared added his view.

Paul rolled his eyes. "She's just a-"

"Guys, check it out.' Embry interrupted, nodding towards Kori's table. The whole pack turned around to see Seth Clearwater approaching Kori. Thanks to their super hearing, the pack was able to listen.

"Hey, Seth. What's up?" Kori asked as she put her hamburger down.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Seth answered teasingly. "Why are you sitting by yourself?"

Kori was silent as she looked at the table for a moment. "I'm not."

Seth tilted his head slightly. "Really?" he asked, not believing her, "Cause your table sure looks empty."

"Yeah, well…um…my friends are just…really slow getting their lunch. Their still in the lunch line." Kori explained.

Seth didn't look like he believed her. "Well…do you want me to sit with you until they get here? You know, to keep you company?"

Kori shook her head and smiled up at him. "No, that's fine, Seth. I know your friends are probably waiting for you." she answered, looking over at a table nearby where several guys were sitting, a few of them watching Seth and Kori.

"Yeah, but they have other people to sit with. I could just sit here until your friends get here. The guys won't mind."

"Seth, really, I'm fine. I can last a few minutes by myself. I promise." Kori reassured him, not looking him in the eye, instead studying her tray.

The pack watched, curious about what Seth would do or say next. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

"Alright. If you're really sure." Kori nodded. "Well, I'll see you after school."

"Yeah, see ya." Kori answered with a smile as Seth headed to his friends.

"Right, that settles it." Embry said. "Kori!"

Kori tensed slightly, showing she heard her name, but she went back to eating.

"Well, that's rude." Paul retorted sarcastically as he ate his pizza.

"Kori!" Jared called.

Kori looked around the cafeteria before looking over her shoulder at the pack. Jared waved her over while Embry patted the empty seat on his opposite side from where Jake was sitting. Kori looked at them for a moment, glanced around the room and noticed several people watching her, and shook her head before turning back around.

"Ooh, denied." Paul chuckled as he ate one of his cookies.

"Shut up." Jared groaned, getting annoyed at his best friend's antics.

"Kori Black!" Embry shouted a bit louder.

Kori lightly slammed her hands down on her lunch tray before turning around again, her face showing she was annoyed as well as embarrassed. Embry waved her over. She looked around a bit before getting up and slowly making her way towards them, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What?" she asked quietly, looking down at Embry. Even though he was sitting down and she was standing, he wasn't that much shorter than her.

"You wanna sit here with us?" he offered.

Kori blinked in surprise. She hesitated for a moment, glancing around the cafeteria as dozens were watching her.

"Um…why?" she asked nervously.

"Cause you look pathetic sitting by yourself." Paul announced before stuffing another bite of hamburger in his mouth, eating nearly half of it in one bite. Jared punched him in the arm.

Kori glared slightly at him, but it was weak.

"I'm not eating by myself." she grumbled quietly, knowing the pack could hear her anyway.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had imaginary friends."

"Paul, shut up." Embry growled.

"Ignore him, Kori, everyone else does." Kim smiled reassuringly up at the young teenager. "You're more than welcome to sit with us, though. If you want to."

Kori looked down at her feet, uncomfortable with all the attention.

"Um…look, Kim, I…appreciate the offer, but…my friends are still going through the lunch line. They'll be out soon, really. But, um… thank you for offering."

"Okay, if you're sure." Kim answered uncertainly.

Kori bit her bottom lip and nodded before turning and hurrying back to her table.

Paul snorted. "You know, Black, your sister's a little liar."

But Jake didn't hear him, his thoughts once again filled with Bella Swan.

XXX

After finishing her lunch, Kori hurriedly left her still-empty lunch table and put her tray above the trash can where it was supposed to go. She hoped the pack didn't notice none of her 'friends' had come to the table to eat. They probably didn't. If any of them did, it would most likely be Kim. Kori didn't really mind Kim, of anyone in the school she could easily see herself being friends with Kim. There were just a couple problems.

For one, Kim was an 11th grader while Kori was in 9th grade. Another thing was she was an imprint. Her and Jared were inseparable, they told each other everything. And then there was wolf telepathy. Kori really didn't need the whole pack knowing all about her.

What Kori was saying was, no, she had no friends at school. Well, except Seth. Seth was her best friend. Had been since they were in diapers pretty much. But he had his own group of friends at school, and she didn't want to drag him into her problems.

She would've told Jake everything, if he'd asked. But he'd been so wrapped up in Bella Swan that he didn't even give her a second glance anymore. They used to be really close. He would take one look at her face and know something was wrong. He was the best older brother she could ever want, but that all changed when Bella started hanging around with him.

So when Kori finished eating she went to the bathroom. It was like clockwork. She always had to use the bathroom after she ate lunch. And today was no different.

As Kori was washing her hands the door swung open. A quick glance made Kori mentally flinch. One of the downsides to using the restroom at the same time and place every day.

"Hi, Kori." Liz greeted in a sarcastic tone.

Kori kept her head down and tried to walk around them and out the door. But Diane and Beth stepped in front of her, Beth shoving her back a few steps.

Liz, Diane, and Beth were three girls in her grade who enjoyed making her life a living hell.

"Leaving so soon?" Diane asked teasingly.

"I have to go to my next class." Kori answered, forcing her voice to stay strong and looking at the spot between Liz's eyes. She was too much of a coward most days to actually make eye contact with anyone.

"Really? Well, lucky for us we still have a few minutes before the dismissal bell rings." Liz pointed out cockily. Kori tried to think of an excuse to get out of there, but before she could Diane's fist slammed into her stomach, knocking the air out of her.

Kori gritted her teeth against the pain and hunch over, her hands clutching her stomach. Two hands shoved her against the brick wall by her shoulders.

Beth slapped Kori across the cheek, making her head snap to the side and her cheek burn from the blow. At that moment the bell rang, dismissing the students from lunch.

"Aw, saved by the bell, huh Kori?" Liz teased before the trio turned and left the bathroom.

Kori swallowed the lump in her throat before slouching back against the brick wall. She caressed her stinging cheek with her cool hand, trying to make the burning sensation go away. She stepped forward to look in the bathroom mirror.

Her cheek was tinted red, a faint hand-shape was barely visible. Kori gently rubbed cool water on her face and patted her other cheek in an attempt to make them look the same color.

Then, she hurried out of the bathroom to her next class. She was just glad it was Friday.

XXX

At the end of the day Kori pulled her backpack strap on her shoulder and closed her locker door. Before she could walk away a strong shoulder crashed into hers, making her slam backward into her locker door.

She looked over to see a group of guys walking away. The one who ran into her looked over his shoulder at her. It was Jackson. Jackson looked like any other Quileute teenage boy, with short black hair and tanned skin. He smirked cruelly at her, a taunting glint in his almost-black eyes. Kori glared at him until he turned back around. When he wasn't looking she rubbed her shoulder, which hurt a bit after being slammed against her locker.

Kori took a deep breath and headed to the front door of the school. When she walked out the large front doors she paused at the top of the front, cement steps.

In the parking lot she could see the pack gathered around Paul's Jeep, Jacob's rabbit parked only a few spots away.

'Okay, just keep your head down and head straight for Jake's car. The others won't even notice you,' she thought to herself, taking a deep breath. She took the first step down the stairs.

"Kori!"

She stopped and turned around, seeing Seth hurrying towards her.

"Hey Seth." she greeted with a smile.

"Hey fibber." he greeted back with a small smile.

Kori tilted her head slightly at the nickname. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Seth crossed his arms. "Your friends never showed up at lunch. You ate all by yourself."

Kori looked at the ground, hooking her thumbs on her backpack straps. "Oh! Um…yeah well, they actually couldn't make it to lunch today…because…they got detentions and had to eat in the classroom. They didn't get to tell me until later."

Kori glanced up at Seth. He was looking down at her, only being a couple inches taller than her, with narrowed eyes. He didn't know if he should believe her, she couldn't blame him. They told each other everything, and they'd never lied to each other about anything. They could always tell when the other was lying.

"Well, um, I gotta get going. See you later, Seth." Kori smiled at him before turning to walk down the steps.

"Wait." Kori stopped and looked over her shoulder at him again. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?" he asked curiously, stepping down to the same step as her.

"No. Why?" Kori asked curiously.

"Well, me, dad, and Billy are going fishing tomorrow. I was wondering if you wanted to come."

"I don't know." Kori shrugged, "I wouldn't want to intrude on your 'guys fishing trip'."

"You wouldn't be." Seth argued. "Billy's always talking about how much he misses his kids fishing with him. He'd love it. Please?" he begged, bringing out the puppy eyes.

Kori rolled her eyes with a grin. "Not fair. You know I can't resist the puppy eyes. Okay, fine. I'll go."

Seth grinned, showing his white teeth. "Great. So, my place around 9:00 tomorrow morning?"

Kori nodded. "Yep. Sounds good."

Some shouting made them look towards the parking lot. Jared was giving Embry a noogie. Kori rolled her eyes, not believing she was really older than them.

"Hey, Kori?" Seth asked uncertainly. Kori looked at him, showing she was listening. "Do you know what's going on with them?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Kori asked nervously.

"You know what I mean. Everyone says they're on steroids, but I can't see Jake or even Embry doing drugs."

Kori looked at her feet for a moment. She could see out of the corner of her eye that the pack had stopped messing around and were watching her, waiting to see what she would say. She couldn't lie to Seth, he was her best friend, but it wasn't her secret to tell.

"I…I can't tell you, Seth. It's not my place to say. I'm sorry." she looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

Seth smiled reassuringly at her. "It's fine. I get it. Sorry for asking, it's none of my business."

"Thanks Seth. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye."

They walked down the steps, going their separate ways at the bottom, Seth heading towards where Leah was waiting by her car while Kori headed towards Jake's rabbit. She kept her head down as she passed the pack. Out of the corner of her eye she saw only Kim and Paul were still watching her. Well, Paul was more glaring at her, like usual. He hated her, she knew that.

Kori walked around and hid most her body behind the rabbit, waiting by the front passenger door for Jake to unlock it.

She faintly heard, "Alright, I'll see you guys later."

Several other voices shouted bye as Jake headed toward his car. Kori climbed in as soon as he unlocked it.

The drive was quiet for a few moments as Jake backed out of the parking lot.

"So, what'd you and Seth talk about?" he asked curiously.

Kori snorted. "Like you weren't listening to the whole thing anyway."

Jake sighed. "Alright, whatever. So you're going fishing tomorrow?"

"Got a problem with that?" she asked.

"I'm just trying to make conversation here, jeez. Calm down, Kor. Did you have a bad day or something?" he asked in an annoyed tone. Kor was a nickname Quil had given her a long time ago that caught on with a few other people, mostly Jake and Embry.

Kori shrugged, looking out the window. "No."

She didn't really have a bad day. Sure, most people would consider it bad, but compared to most days in Kori Black's life it wasn't that bad.

Jake seemed to give up trying to talk to her, so the rest of the drive was quiet. Finally, they pulled up and parked in their driveway.

As they got out a sharp, short howl ripped through the air, causing a shiver to run up Kori's spine. She'd never admit it to the pack, they had big enough egos as it is, but wolves were her favorite animals. And their howls had a tendency to comfort her.

"Crap." Jake muttered, slamming his door shut.

"What's up?" Kori asked.

"Leech." he growled. He started walking towards the woods backwards. "Hey Kor, could you-"

"I'll tell dad you might be late for dinner." she answered with a roll of her eyes.

"Thanks!" he shouted as he pulled his T-shirt over his head, tossing it on the ground as he raced into the woods.

Kori rolled her eyes again as she walked into the backyard and picked up his T-shirt before going inside and tossing it in the hamper.

XXX

Later that night Kori's eyes snapped open. She looked around her dark room, not knowing what had woken her up. She looked over at the small alarm clock on her bedside table. It was 10:34 at night.

A long, mournful howl snapped Kori's attention to the window beside her bed. She crawled out from under her blankets to the edge of her bed, crawling over the footboard until her bare feet touched the cool wooden floor. She crossed her arms to try chasing away the chill as she looked out her window, seeing if she could spot who howled. She didn't know the pack well enough to know who was who in wolf form. Not that she really cared to, but something about that howl stirred something in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what it was, or if she liked it.

She spotted a couple shapes racing through the trees at the edge of the forest, and she could tell it was someone from the pack, but she still didn't know who it was.

Deciding to give up, Kori climbed back in bed. But it took a couple hours for her to fall back asleep.

**XXX**

**This is the first chapter of my new fanfic **_**You Don't Have to be Alone**_**. I hope you all like it so far, reviews are very much appreciated. Let me know what you think. Thanks!**


	2. Secrets

Chapter 2

Secrets

Kori tied her long hair up in a messy bun, wearing an old T-shirt and jeans. She left her room and headed towards the kitchen.

Jake was sitting alone at the kitchen table, staring at a bowl of cereal with one hand on his head, his fingers in his cropped hair.

"Hey." Kori greeted him quietly as she grabbed a box of cereal and a bowl out of the cupboard.

"Hey." he grumbled back, still not touching his cereal.

"So, what happened last night?" Kori asked, trying to find out about the howling she heard.

"Nothing." he murmured as she sat across from him.

"Nothing, huh? You sure? You look pretty upset about something." Kori pointed out casually, taking a bite of her cereal.

Jake glared up at her. "It's not your problem, so just drop it." he growled before glaring at his cereal. Kori paused, not expecting hostility.

"I was just asking." she grumbled, stirring her cereal a bit.

Jake sighed, dragging his hand down his face.

"Alright, fine. When I left after school it was because the redhead was back. We chased her for a while but then we lost her when she jumped off the cliffs into the ocean."

"No offence, but shouldn't you guys be used to losing her by now?" Kori asked lightly with a small smile on her face. Jake rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the small grin from creeping on his face at that statement.

"Shut up. Anyway, when I was at the cliffs I looked over and saw Bella jump off some cliffs nearby into the ocean."

Kori dropped her spoon and stared at her brother. "Seriously? What, now she's gone suicidal?!"

Jake rolled his eyes at her. "She was cliff diving, apparently. Anyway, I jumped in after her, saved her, and took her back to her place. Only to find that one of the Cullens was there."

"Oh joy." Kori sighed as she took another bite of cereal. She knew about the Cullens and Bella as well, and she wasn't a big fan of any of them.

"Yeah, apparently the pixie one can see the future, but she can't see wolves-"

"Let me guess." Kori interrupted, rubbing her forehead. "She saw Bella jump off the cliff, but didn't see you save her."

Jake nodded. "Yup. So she thought Bella was dead. Anyway, long story short, she gave me and Bella some time alone. Then, Edward Cullen called, and I may have unintentionally said something that made him think Bella was dead." he said guiltily, "So the pixie came back inside saying that Edward was going to Italy to have himself destroyed because he didn't want to live without Bella."

"What's in Italy?" Kori asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Some kind of vampire royalty or something. I can't remember what they called it. Anyway, Bella left with the pixie to go save him."

Kori's mouth dropped open. "She left you to go save the guy that left her to die in the woods?"

Jake nodded mutely, trying to hide the hurt swimming in his dark brown eyes.

"Does Charlie know she's gone?" Kori asked quietly, knowing Charlie would be extremely worried about his daughter.

Jake shrugged. "She left last night pretty late, Charlie hadn't come home yet. I don't know if he knows by now or not."

Kori shook her head and looked away from her brother. How could someone be so self-centered and stupid? Charlie would be having a panic attack. He'd probably have every police officer in all of Washington out searching for her. As Kori's gaze scanned the kitchen her eyes spotted the clock. It was 8:46 in the morning.

"Well, I'm sure she'll be fine." Kori said as she stood up and put her bowl in the sink. "I've gotta get going. I'll see you later, Jake."

Jake looked over his shoulder. "Wait, where are you going this early on a Saturday morning?" he asked, a hint of surprise in his tone.

Kori slid her jacket on over her T-shirt. "Um, I told you yesterday I'm going fishing with Seth, dad, and Harry. Don't you remember?" she asked teasingly.

Jake blinked and his face seemed to pale and a few emotions flashed through his eyes. Regret. Dread. Grief. He looked away and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"What?" Kori asked, feeling her stomach drop.

"Um…well, your fishing trip has been, um…cancelled." he said after a while.

"What? Cancelled? Why? You know how dad, Harry, and Charlie are with their fishing trips. They only ever cancel if there's, like, a thunderstorm or something."

Jake still wouldn't look at her and the silence was making her stomach clench to the point she felt like she was going to throw up.

"Jake, what happened?" she asked quietly, fighting the lump in her throat.

He finally looked up at her, his brown eyes meeting hers.

"Harry Clearwater…died from a heart attack last night." he said quietly.

Everything seemed to slow down. Kori's body suddenly felt like she couldn't hold herself up any more. Harry was always like a second father to her. He was always there when she was growing up, especially since she spent much of her childhood with Seth as their fathers were best friends. He was always there for her when Billy couldn't always be due to his diabetes putting him in a wheelchair. With Harry gone, it almost felt like Kori was loosing another parent. Like losing her mother all over again.

"No," she murmured, feeling her chest clenching and finding it hard to breathe, "no, no. You're lying. This is all some sick joke. This can't- Harry can't…" Kori gulped and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"You really think I'd lie about something like this?" Jake asked tiredly, "Trust me, I hate having to be the one to pass this news onto you, but it's not like I can change what happened, Kori. I'm sorry. I really wish I could, but that's not how life works."

Kori stared at the floor, breathing hard as she tried to make sense of her jumbled thoughts. Then, a thought snapped into her mind.

"Seth. Oh god, I-I need to see him. I need to be there for him. I need to-"

Kori hurried toward the front door but Jake grabbed her arm.

"Wait! You can't see Seth."

Kori looked up at him like he'd grown another head.

"What are you talking about? His dad just died. He's probably going through hell right now. When mom died Seth stayed by my side through everything, I can't just leave him to handle it on his own. I need to be there for him!"

"Kori, I'm sorry. It's just that…he's got a lot going on right now. And dad thinks it's for the best if you just give him some space for a while." Jake explained calmly.

"But…Jake I…Seth…he…" Kori trailed off, looking pleadingly up at her brother.

"I'm sorry Kori. It's out of my control." Jake apologized regretfully.

Kori tore her arm out of his grip as tears blurred her vision. She shoved past him and raced to her room, slamming her door shut behind her. Her shoulders shook as sobs tore through her chest and she fell onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow.

XXX

Kori stayed locked in her room most of the day, only leaving about four times total between bathroom breaks and Quil coming by to force her to eat. She tried seeing if Quil would tell her what was going on, but all he would say was that: Seth and Leah are both going through a hard time; and Billy and Charlie were helping Sue plan the funeral and stuff. Kori got the feeling that Quil was keeping something from her, just like Jake was.

Her dad came home around seven and went straight to his room, just like he'd done when Sarah had died. He didn't say a single word to either of his kids, not that Jake was any better. He was busy moping around about Bella Swan.

Kori rolled over on her bed, looking at the small clock. It was almost 10:00. She thought for a moment before slowly getting up and tiptoeing across her room. Halfway through the day she'd changed into sweatpants and her baggy hooded sweatshirt.

Kori opened her door just enough to peep through the crack and look into the living room. She could barely make out Jacob asleep on the couch. She closed the door silently before going to her bedside table. She pulled the drawer open and grabbed the small flashlight she kept in there just in case. Then, she went over to her window, opened it, and slipped out. She landed with a thump on the soft, grassy ground that was a good seven or eight feet from her window.

She glanced around before standing straight up and running as fast as she could to the tree line. If she could just make it into the safe cover of the trees there was no way Jake would see her.

She breathed a sigh of relief when several tall tree trunks blocked her from the view of the house. She slowed to a walk, keeping a firm grip on the flashlight in her pocket. She kept it off for now, saving the battery for if she'd actually need it later.

She followed the familiar route she normally took when going to the Clearwater's. Whenever she or Seth had a hard time sleeping they'd sneak out and go to the other's house.

It started when they were about seven or eight years old and Seth had a really bad nightmare. He didn't want to bother his parents or Leah, so he snuck out his window and took a shortcut through the woods to Kori's house.

He'd thrown rocks at her window until she opened it. He then rolled an old log over to the window and used it to climb inside. They ended up falling asleep together in Kori's bed. The next morning Sue Clearwater had called the Black's house frantically asking if they knew where Seth was. Everyone was beyond relieved when they peaked in Kori's room and found the two friends curled up together, sleeping soundly. Sue lectured both children about how dangerous that was and to never do it again. Of course, they didn't listen. Whenever one had trouble sleeping they went to the others' house. And after a while, their parents just sort of accepted it.

So, that's what Kori was doing.

When she could just see the edge of Seth's backyard through the trees, Kori heard rustling in the bushes just ahead of her to her right. She paused for a moment, not moving again until the movement stopped.

She froze again when a twig snapped behind her, making her spin around. She could hear footsteps and bushes rustling so she pulled her flashlight out. The bushes only a few feet away from her shook and she turned on her flashlight, shining it directly at the bush.

"Ow! Are you trying to blind me?" a harsh voice snapped as a tall figure stepped out. Kori lower the light away from his face and groaned.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" she asked. Paul narrowed his eyes at her.

"I could ask you the same thing. I actually have a reason to be out here, what are you doing out here?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his bare chest. He was only wearing jean cutoffs, like usual. Clearly these boys enjoy walking around shirtless far too much.

"That's none of your business." Kori stated before turning around and continuing to Seth's house.

She walked around the tree only to smack right into something hard. She stepped back and looked up, holding her nose and mouth. Paul was looking down at her.

"Being what I am makes it my business. Now answer the question."

"Since when do you care what I do?" Kori demanded, crossing her arms as she put her flashlight back in her pocket.

"I don't. But if you get hurt while I'm on patrol Jake'll have my throat. Now talk."

"Yeah right." she muttered quietly, knowing Jake probably wouldn't care, being too worried about Bella. "If you must know, Harry Clearwater died last night." Kori explained quietly, looking at the forest floor.

"Yeah, I heard." Paul answered, actually sounding a little remorseful, "What's that got to do with you being out here?"

"I'm going to Seth's to make sure he's okay." Kori answered before walking around him. A large, hot hand grabbed her arm.

"No, you're not." Paul answered simply. She jerked her arm out of his grip.

"Why won't anyone let me see him? I swear, the whole world is against me being there for my best friend!" Kori snapped, getting annoyed at everyone.

Paul shrugged. "Don't blame me. I'm just following orders."

Kori tilted her head slightly, her face scrunched up in confusion. "Since when do you take orders from my dad?"

Paul blinked and furrowed his eye brows. "I don't. Unfortunately, I take them from Sam."

"What does Sam have to do with this?" Kori asked, completely thrown off.

"Obviously, it's not my place to say. Now go home."

"No." Kori answered before turning and running in the direction of the Clearwater's house.

She could barely see their house through the trees when suddenly she was picked up and thrown over a shoulder.

"What the heck, Paul?! Put me down!" she yelled, pounding her fists on his back. It actually hurt her hands more than his back, she figured.

"Either you walk back home on your own, or I'm gonna have to carry you. Which actually isn't that bad. You're like a feather, how much do you even weigh?"

Kori looked down, feeling her face heat up. She'd always been a little scrawny for her age. Her wrists were so small she could touch her thumb to her pinkie around her wrist. "115. Why?"

Paul snorted. "Wow, you really are a shrimp." he taunted, making Kori grit her teeth in anger. "Now, make your choice. Are you walking or not?"

Kori sighed in defeat. There was no way she was seeing Seth tonight. "Alright, fine. I'll walk." she mumbled. Paul dropped her on her feet and she started walking back home. After a few moments she realized she wasn't alone.

"You don't have to walk me home, you know." she snapped, glaring at Paul for a moment.

"Believe me, I'd rather be doing anything else." Paul snapped back, "But if I let you wander the woods alone, Baby Alpha will probably try to kill me."

Kori rolled her eyes and continued the walk in silence. When they crossed through her backyard she headed for her open bedroom window.

"What do you think you're doing?" Paul demanded.

Kori looked over her shoulder at him. "Going through my window." she answered.

Paul shook his head. "I don't think so. Jake's gonna know exactly what his precious little sister was up to tonight."

Kori rolled her eyes before following him up the steps onto their back porch. Paul knocked on the back door.

"Gosh, wake up the whole rez, why don't you?" Kori grumbled, stuffing her fists in her sweatshirt pocket.

Paul simply glanced at her before crossing his arms and waiting. There was a thump just inside the door, which made Paul snicker, before a tired-looking Jake opened the door.

"Dude, what's your-Kori?" Jake stopped when he saw his little sister standing beside his pack brother. He glanced between them for a moment. "What are you two doing together on my back porch in the middle of the night?" he asked, clearly not happy.

Kori swallowed and looked at her feet.

"I was just finishing up my shift when I happened upon a certain freshman walking through the woods on her way to the Clearwater's house." Paul answered pointedly.

Jake sighed and put his hand to his forehead. "Kori, I told you you'll be able to see Seth soon, just not yet." he spoke slowly, as if talking to a five year old.

Kori rolled her eyes, but kept her head down. "Whatever." she grumbled, pushing past her brother into the house. When she turned into the hallway she paused when she heard them start talking.

"You know, if she keeps this up she's going to find out. And I don't think the pack's going to enjoy having to baby sit her if she makes this a habit." Paul spoke.

She heard Jake sigh. "I know, I know. I'm not the one who made this stupid rule. I don't see why she can't know yet, she'll know eventually, so why is Sam insisting on delaying the inevitable?"

"Cause he's an idiot."

There was a small silence before Jake spoke again. "How're they doing?"

"Leah's still blaming herself and Sam, and Seth is still being annoying and asking about Kori. I swear, if I didn't know any better I'd think he imp-"

There was a sudden silence and Kori held her breath.

"Kori, quit eavesdropping and go to bed." Jake told her tiredly.

Kori sighed in defeat before going to her room to go to bed. Clearly everyone but her knew what was going on with Seth and Leah. Why wasn't she allowed to know?

**XXX**

**Thank you to everyone who has already reviewed, followed, or favorited this story so far! I seriously did not expect this much activity after only one day!**

**I had already written the first five or so chapters before I even uploaded the first one, so the first few times I update this story should be pretty soon. Thank you again!**


	3. The Truth Comes Out

Chapter 3

The Truth Comes Out

Kori stretched in her bed as she woke up. She glanced around her room, sunlight was filtering in through her window, throwing a gentle light on her wood floor. A light knock on her door drew her attention to the other side of her room.

"Yeah?" she called, scooting up so she can sit up on her bed. The door opens and Billy rolls himself in. He stops by her bed and looks at her.

"How'd you sleep?" he asks gently. Kori looks down at the quilt covering her legs.

"Good." she answers quietly, knowing by his tone that he knows what she did the previous night.

"That's good. Now, what's this I hear about you sneaking out into the woods last night?" he asks, resting his elbows on the armrests of his wheelchair.

Kori sighed, biting her lip for a moment. She knew he found out.

"I just…I wanted to make sure Seth was okay." she answered quietly. There was a moment of silence before she felt a warm, calloused hand grip hers. The action made a few tears fall down her cheeks. In a second her father wrapped his arms around her, one hand stroking her head.

"Kori, I promise you that Seth is doing okay. He's just going through some things right now and needs some space. He misses you, too, but he understands that you two need some time away from each other."

Kori pulled back slightly, so her face wasn't buried in her father's shoulder. "He…doesn't want me around?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking.

"No, no Kori, that's not it at all. He wishes he could be with you right now. He wants to be with you because he knows you're the one friend he can trust with anything, but he can't be with you right now."

"But why? Everyone seems to know except me. Why can't I know, too?" Kori asked, knowing her voice was turning into a pathetic whimper, but she didn't care. It hurt too much.

Billy sighed, tightening his grip on her slightly. "I promise you will be told the truth soon. I promise. But you can't keep running into the woods in the middle of the night like that, and you know why, too. You could get killed out there. The pack has more important things to do than baby-sit you. Stay out of there, and no more late night trips to the Clearwater's. Promise?" Billy checked as he pulled back and sat back in his wheelchair.

Kori looked at her lap so he couldn't see her tears and nodded. "I promise, dad." she answered as she wiped her cheeks with her hand.

Billy nodded. "Oh, one more thing." he added. Kori looked up at him. "You're grounded for today and therefore aren't allowed to leave this house. If I hear that you do, you'll be grounded for this whole week. Got it?"

Kori nodded before looking back at her lap. That was a pretty fair punishment, only being grounded one day. She might as well take it, she had nothing better to do anyway.

Billy kissed her forehead before turning his wheelchair around. He paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. "Jake and I will be spending most of the day at the Clearwater's with Sue and Charlie. If you need anything just call, okay?" Kori nodded and he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Kori sighed and fell back on her bed. Why was Jake allowed to go over there and she couldn't? It's not fair!

Kori laid there staring up at her ceiling for a while, she wasn't sure how long, when she heard the familiar sound of wolves barking at the edge of the trees. Kori sat up and scooted to the end of her bed to look out her window.

She saw two wolves just inside the woods, playing and jumping around each other. She could tell they're from the pack, they're much larger than normal wolves. One is gray with black spots covering his fur as well as a dark gray nose; the other one has chocolate brown fur, but it gets lighter around his face. Kori didn't know the pack well enough to tell who they were, but judging by the fact that they're playing it's not Paul or Sam. Those two are so uptight she wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even know the definition of fun.

Thinking of Sam and Paul made Kori get a little angry. Paul said Sam ordered him not to tell her what was going on with Seth, but Jake said it was their father's idea. She was getting two different stories, which meant someone was lying to her. First they were refusing to tell her what was going on, but now they've also resorted to lying to her!

Sure, she was used to being alone. She usually was most days. But this was different! Something was going on with Seth, he was hurting, and apparently more was going on than just Harry's death! Everyone around her knows what's going on, but they refuse to tell her!

Kori felt rage course through her, causing her limbs to shake uncontrollably until she was almost convulsing. She wasn't thinking anymore, it was like her brain's connection with her body had been cut. Her body was working on impulse.

Without realizing what was happening, Kori threw her window open, leapt outside, and raced towards the woods faster than she'd ever run before. A sudden, agonizing pain coursed through her, starting at her center and flowing through her limbs to the tips of her fingers and toes.

She felt like her bones were breaking and shifting inside her while her muscles were expanding. It felt like her whole body was on fire!

As she reached the edge of the trees she felt like her whole body just exploded. She stumbled in her haste and slammed her side into a tree, making it shake under the impact.

Kori shook her head and stood straight up, keeping her head low. When she opened her eyes the first thing she saw was the forest floor and…paws?! Her eyes shot wide open and she looked over her shoulder down her back. Fur?! A tail?! Kori found herself walking in circles trying to see herself, like a dog chasing its tail. Then she stumbled and plopped down on her butt from the dizziness.

"_Seriously?" she asked herself. Out of anything in the world she had to be, she had to be one of _them?!

"_Hey! Who is that?"_

"_Did someone new just phase?"_

"_Great. That's just what we need right now."_

"_Does anyone know who it is?"_

Kori shook her head, getting confused and slightly dizzy from all the different voices echoing through her head.

"_Can you tell us your name?" Sam's voice stood out as the others quieted down._

Kori felt herself start shaking slightly and whimpered as she laid down on the forest floor, tucking her tail beneath her. She was so confused. She didn't think girls could phase. And she was only fourteen! Jake didn't phase until he was sixteen!

"_Who is this?! They already know all about us!" Paul's voice sounded in her head, making her growl as she remembered what made her angry in the first place._

"_Wait a minute!" Jared suddenly shouted, "It sounds like it's a…girl!"_

"_Another one?"_

"_Really?"_

_Paul's voiced overlapped a voice Kori didn't expect to hear._

"_LEAH?!"_

"_Kori?" Leah and another voice answered. Kori felt like her heart stopped._

"_Seth?!"_

"_Kori! I can't believe it. You phased, too?"_

"_Great. Just what we need." Paul grumbled, making Kori growl again. "What did I ever do to you?" he demanded. But another thought popped into Kori's head._

"_Was this the secret I wasn't allowed to know?" Kori asked, aiming the thought at Sam. Guilt flashed through Quil and Embry's thoughts, so she guessed she was right._

"_I already know about the pack and everything, why couldn't I know Seth and Leah phased?"_

"_We all know how close you two are, and new wolves are very unstable. We didn't want to risk you sneaking into the woods to look for Seth and end up getting hurt." Sam explained._

"_Yeah, but she did it anyway." Paul grumbled._

"_Kori, where are you?" Sam asked, ignoring Paul's remark._

Kori looked over her shoulder where her house was. _"I'm in the woods behind my house." she answered._

"_Quil, go to Emily's and call Jake to tell him what happened. Embry, come with me, Paul stay with Leah and Seth, and Jared continue patrolling." Sam ordered._

Kori stayed lying down next to a tree as she waited. After only a few moments the strong scent of wolves filled her nose before Sam and Embry stepped out of the bushes.

"_Hey Kor. Looking good." Embry greeted as the spotted wolf she saw earlier stepped forward and Kori got a good look at herself from Embry's mind._

She was a gray and copper brown color that got darker on her back with a nearly black tail, brown nose, and white cheeks, belly, and legs. Her fur was a bit longer and shaggier than theirs.**(The wolf on the cover is what Kori looks like)**

"_Wow, you're even smaller than Seth and Leah." Embry commented when Kori stood up. _

"_I am?"_

"_Yeah. They're the smallest ones in the pack, with Seth being barely shorter than Leah. But it looks like you're even shorter." Embry told her in a light, teasing tone, which made Kori growl at him._

"_Kori, relax. You need to calm down if you want to phase back any time soon." Sam told her, making her look up at him. And holy crap! He's huge! Kori finally got a good look at both him and Embry's size compared to hers._

Sam was probably a bit larger than a horse with broad shoulders and firm muscles that rippled under his thick, jet-black coat. Embry was a bit shorter than him, the top of his head coming to Sam's eyes, he was also slimmer with sleek fur. In size, Kori came to about Embry's nose or Sam's back just above his shoulders.

"_Yeah, good luck with that." Leah remarked sarcastically, commenting on phasing back soon. Clearly she'd been in wolf form long enough to be sick of it._

"_How long have you guys been in wolf form?" Kori asked curiously._

"_Since Friday night." Leah mumbled, and Kori caught flashes of her memories before she could stop them. She saw Leah arguing with Harry. She heard Sam's name a couple times. Then the shaking. Harry didn't know what was happening until she burst into a wolf right in front of him. He clutched his chest and fell to the floor, and Seth was shaking in the background before he burst into a wolf, too. Kori felt guilt and pain flash from Leah's mind as well as grief from Seth's._

"_Oh my God. I'm…I'm so sorry guys." Kori murmured, feeling bad for bringing it up._

"_Whatever." Leah growled, "The point is, get used to being a wolf. It'll be a while before you can phase back."_

"_Not necessarily." Sam pointed out. "It depends on the person. It took Paul about three-four days to phase while it only took Jake about a day."_

"_Fascinating." she growled, clearly not happy about having to share a mind with her ex-boyfriend._

At that moment everyone became aware of another wolf phasing in.

"_Sam, tell me Quil reached a new level of sick with his jokes and that my little sister did _not _phase!" Jake demanded as he hurried through the forest._

"_Wish I could, Jake." Sam answered, and Jake saw in his thoughts that Kori was with him._

"_You've got to be kidding me." Jake groaned as he came closer._

"_Out of curiosity, what triggered your phasing?" Quil asked, having phased back after he contacted Jacob._

_Kori didn't answer, but she didn't have to. Her thoughts instinctively flashed back to what she was thinking about in her room._

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa! What did I do?" Paul demanded, "It's not like I had a choice in not telling you. You think I give a crap if you knew about Seth or not? The only reason I didn't say anything was cause of Sam's stupid Alpha Command."_

"_Paul!"_

"_I don't care about you!" Kori shouted back, ignoring Sam's interruption, "I already know you hate me, heck people in Forks probably know you hate me, I don't give a crap!"_

"_Good! While we're on the subject, I actually wish you hadn't phased, but not for the reasons everyone else has. Since you phased, that means I'm gonna be stuck in your head! It's bad enough I'm stuck in someone like Baby Alpha's head, always complaining about the leech lover, now I have to hear what you have to complain about. And I'm sure that list just goes on and on. I mean, we all already know you're a loner. You don't have any friends, and just because you're part of the pack doesn't change that!"_

Kori felt pain flash through her at Paul's words and forced herself to study the grass beneath her feet to keep her mind from going to school.

"_I can't believe you said that!" Seth roared._

Kori heard through their thoughts that Seth launched himself at Paul. Thoughts, sounds, and voices blended until Kori didn't know what was happening. A loud yelp echoed in the air and Kori's head snapped to attention. She didn't know how, but she knew that was Seth.

"_STOP!" the power of what Kori guessed was the Alpha Command hit everyone like a wave, nearly knocking her off her feet._

Paul and Seth broke apart and Kori could see through everyone's thoughts that he was limping.

"_Seth, are you okay?" Kori asked worriedly._

"_Yeah, I'm fine. I can feel it healing already." Seth answered like it was no big deal._

"_Try that again, pup, and it'll take a lot longer to heal." Paul snarled._

"_Say anything like that to her ever again, and I'll make sure you regret it." Seth snarled back, which only made Paul laugh._

"_Paul! Enough. We're trying to calm them down so they can phase back, not make things worse. I want you to phase back, go home, and calm down. Jared, take his place with Leah and Seth, and Quil take Jared's place on patrol." Sam ordered, trying hard to keep control of his anger. _

Embry turned his big, wolf head to Kori. _"Anyway…lets see if we can get you to phase back."_

They were at it all day. The rest of the pack rotated in and out with the jobs, at least one wolf patrolling, one with Seth and Leah, and one with Kori at all times. Though Sam made sure not to stick Paul with Kori because that clearly wouldn't help her calm down any.

By the time the sun was starting to set, it was Jared's turn to watch Kori while Quil was with Seth and Leah, and Jacob was on patrol.

"_Okay, lets try something else." Jared spoke patiently as he sat down in front of her. He had thick, dull brown fur with gray around his eyes, making it look like he had on a mask. He was a bit smaller than Sam, but still larger than Embry and Kori. "Think of something that…calms you down. Might be a memory, a song, anything." he nodded for her to try so Kori thought for a moment. When he said memory or a song it reminded her of when her mom used to sing to her and her brother and sisters when they were little._

Kori closed her eyes and played back a memory of her mom singing a lullaby when she was little. She took deep breaths, feeling all her stress and anger melt away in one large whoosh. She felt a tickle, like a breeze through her fur.

Something soft landed on top of her and she opened her eyes. She pulled her hoodie off her head and looked up. Jared was sitting with his back to her. Wait a minute! She had hands!

Kori looked down at herself and, sure enough, she was human…and naked. Kori quickly slipped on the hoodie and sweatpants.

"You can turn around now." she murmured quietly, slightly embarrassed.

Jared peaked over his broad shoulder at her, as if making sure it was safe, before turning around completely, his tail wagging slightly.

"Am I allowed to go home now?" Kori asked tiredly. She was so tired she felt like she could fall asleep on her feet. Not to mention she was starving. Now she felt bad for always giving Jake a hard time with all the food he ate.

Jared tilted his head for a moment before lifting it and looking out into the woods. Kori guessed he was talking, well thinking, with other members of the pack. After a few moments he looked back down at her, her head reached just below his chin, and nodded.

"Kay, thanks Jared." she whispered before turning and going home.

She instinctively went to the kitchen because she was starving. She opened one of the cupboards and grabbed a can of ravioli from the very top. When she turned she froze and looked back up at the shelf she got the can from. She'd never been able to reach that shelf before! She always had to ask Jake to get something from there. She must've grown at least four inches to reach that!

Kori shook her head and went back to getting her dinner ready. She knew from when Jake phased that she'd get a growth spurt. She couldn't help smirking and shaking her head at the memory.

_*~FLASHBACK~*_

_Kori looked up from the book she was reading and saw her brother walking across the yard through the window. She put her book down and walked out of the house to see what was going on._

"_Hey Jake! How'd the movies go?" she asked curiously. Her brother had been at the movies with Bella and some guy from her school._

"_Fine!" he snapped. His face was full of rage and his whole body was shaking. Kori could tell something must've gone wrong._

"_Did something happen?" Kori asked calmly, hoping he'd calm down._

"_It's none of your business!" Jake yelled, making Kori flinch back. She heard the door open behind her and her dad stopped in the doorway._

"_Jake, why don't you calm down and take a walk?" he suggested calmly, as if his son wasn't acting strangely at all. Kori moved forward, closer to her brother to see if she could help. "Kori! Stay back!" her dad called, but she ignored him._

"_Jake, did Bella do something?" that simple question sent Jacob over the edge. His body started convulsing before he burst into an enormous rusty-brown wolf! Kori was standing too close and would've been harmed had a pair of strong, warm arms not pulled her back at the last second._

_Wolf-Jake ran off into the trees with Paul Lahote and Jared Cameron behind him, changing into wolves as well at the edge of the trees. Kori slouched against whoever was still holding her and looked up. Embry Call smiled nervously down at her before helping her stand up again._

_Sam Uley took her inside with her dad and Embry and they explained everything to her. She didn't freak out, she didn't faint. She accepted it. It seemed a little weird at first, but she reasoned that lots of things are weird._

_*~END OF FLASHBACK~*_

Kori shook herself out of the flashback and took her warm bowl of ravioli to the couch to eat. She shoveled the food into her mouth, nearly inhaling it, and within a few minutes it was gone, unfortunately she was still hungry. But she was also uncomfortably hot. She put the dish in the sink before going into her room to change into something else.

She grabbed a pair of old basketball shorts and a large T-shirt. She quickly got out of her sweats and pulled on a bra and underwear and slipped on her shorts. She paused in front of her mirror, her shirt in her hands. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth opened slightly in surprise.

She used to be pretty skinny with just a bit of baby fat on her stomach and really no visible muscles. But now she could see her toned muscles moving with every slight movement she made. There wasn't so much that she looked gross, but enough that her body looked different, with nice curves where they should be instead of a straight, plain body. And her abs were more developed and she could feel the firm muscle there, too.

The back door slamming shut shook Kori out of her thoughts. She smelled Quil, Embry, and…lasagna? Her mouth watered slightly and her stomach growled.

"Hey, Kori! You here?" Quil called into the house.

Kori swiftly pulled on her shirt and hurried out of her room. She entered the living room to find Quil already lounging on the couch with Embry standing nearby holding a plate.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked curiously, crossing her arms.

They looked over at her.

"Dang!" Quil exclaimed, "You look _way_ different!"

Kori blushed and looked down. "Yup, that kinda happens when you phase, Quil. You should know that by now." she answered good-naturedly.

Embry held up the plate that was covered in tinfoil. "This is from Emily. She figured, you know, since you phased and all and Billy's really busy with…you know, that you might need some decent food around here." he smiled and held it towards her.

Kori smiled and walked over to him. "She didn't need to do that." she said as she took it from him and headed towards the kitchen. "Well, tell her I said thank you."

"Will do." Quil answered as they followed her into the kitchen, where Kori sat on the counter and began eating it. She was still starving.

"So, what do you think of all this?" Embry asked curiously, leaning his elbows back on the counter behind him, across from Kori. Quil stood next to him, his arms crossed over his bare chest.

"What do you mean?" Kori asked after she swallowed.

"Phasing and all. What do you think of it so far?"

Kori paused in her eating and thought for a moment. What _did _she think about it?

"I don't know. I'm not sure I like it. I don't want to have to fight vampires and have a bunch of idiots in my head. No offense."

"None taken." Embry shrugged. "But come on, there's some benefits, too. Heightened senses, fast healing, you don't get sick."

"If I want to be extremely negative, I could say all that means is I have to hear what people like to whisper about me, I'll have to smell Paul's BO, and I can't take any sick days off school." Kori pointed out, earning a laugh from Quil, "But, I suppose some of that stuff could come in handy."

"I suppose we're not the ones who could really sympathize. We're two of the only pack members who actually like being wolves." Quil pointed out.

Kori swallowed another mouthful and scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"

They both shrugged, looking more like brothers than best friends.

"Well, I thought it was all just cool in general." Embry answered.

"And I was glad to get my friends back." Quil smiled as he answered, which made Kori smiled slightly, too. She remembered seeing him sitting alone before he phased. He always looked so sad and would look over at the pack, watching his friends laughing with them. She was glad he got Jake and Embry back. It was strange seeing him without them.

"I would've thought you'd be more like Quil, honestly." Embry pointed out, making Kori look at him in confusion, "You know, he got his friends back and isn't alone anymore." he explained quietly.

Kori's eyebrows shot up briefly before she glared at him slightly and looked down at the half eaten lasagna on her lap. After a couple moments she spoke.

"My situation and Quil's situation are nothing alike." she mumbled. "You lost your friends to the pack, and phasing got them back. I didn't lose anyone to the pack."

Quil tilted his head slightly, like a dog. "What about Seth?"

"I didn't lose Seth, we've always been friends."

"How come you never hang out with him at school? Come to think of it, why are you always by yourself at school?" Embry asked curiously.

Kori growled lowly at him and felt herself start shaking. Embry and Quil glanced worriedly at each other.

"Kori, calm down, okay? He didn't mean anything by it." Quil reasoned, holding his hands up. Kori closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

'You don't want to phase right now,' she thought to herself, 'if you phase thinking about everything at school the pack will find out about it. Calm down.' she felt herself relax and her body stopped shaking. She opened her eyes and started eating again like nothing happened.

"Sooo…are you going to, like, hang out with the pack at school?" Embry asked cautiously.

Kori glanced up at him before looking back at her plate. "I don't know. Certain pack members don't seem to want me around, so why should I?"

"Come on, that's just Paul. Nobody listens to him." Quil argued lightly.

Kori shrugged, wanting to end the conversation. "I'll think about it."

XXX

Kori was woken by a warm hand shaking her shoulder. She forced her tired eyes open and focused on her brother's familiar face hovering above hers. Glancing over, her clock said 10:47 pm. She turned back to look up at Jacob.

"What?" she whined, swatting her hands at him.

"I figured you'd want to know that Seth and Leah finally managed to phase back-"

Kori shot up but Jake put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down.

"Hold it. They're at home sleeping, they need it as much as you. However, you'll see them tomorrow morning. I'm supposed to have a bit of a training exercise with you three to see where you all are as far as strength and skill go. Get some sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow."

There wasn't any warmth in Jake's voice. The statement wasn't warm, brotherly advice, it was more of an order from a babysitter or boss.

"Okay." Kori laid back down and was out before her head hit the pillow.


	4. Didn't Know You had a Temper

Chapter 4

Didn't Know You had a Temper

The next morning Kori stuffed about four bowls of cereal, two pieces of toast, and a granola bar down her throat before hurrying after Jake out of the house. She decided before she phased to focus on her surroundings when in wolf form, so she wouldn't think of anything that she didn't want any of them to know.

When they reached the edge of the forest they hid behind different bushes, stripped, tied their clothes around their legs, and phased. Kori followed Jake through the woods, focusing on everything around her. Wow! She could hear things halfway to the Canadian border! Awesome!

Then, two other familiar scents floated to Kori's nose, making her pick up her pace until Jake pushed through some bushes into a small clearing. On the other side sat a beautiful light gray wolf and another, slightly smaller sand-colored wolf. Kori ducked her eyes slightly, avoiding eye contact like she usually did.

"_Hey Kori!" Seth greeted happily as he barked and wagged his tail._

"_Hi Seth! Good to see you!" Kori greeted back, her tail instinctively wagging in response._

"_Glad you're not in school?" he guessed teasingly._

Kori snorted. _"Obviously."_

"_Alright, enough you two. Let's get this over with." Jake interrupted, stepping into the center of the clearing. "I suppose we'll start with Leah. We'll have a practice fight to see how strong and fast you are. Ready?"_

_Leah snorted and stepped forward. "Lets just get this over with." she grumbled._

Kori walked around the clearing and sat next to Seth as they watched their older siblings circle each other. After a couple seconds Leah lunged at Jake, aiming for the throat. Jake knocked his shoulder into her, knocking her to the ground easily. But Leah wasn't one to give up. She rolled to her feet and jumped away as Jake lunged for her. This went on for a few minutes before Jake finally slammed Leah into the ground, holding his powerful jaws around her throat in a silent warning.

After a few moments he pulled back.

"_Alright, Seth, Kori, your up." he announced as Leah trotted to the edge of the clearing where she was before, trying to hide a slight limp._

Seth and Kori perked up slightly, but not in a good way.

"_Wait! What do you mean? I thought you were going to fight us each individually." Kori spoke up hesitantly. Judging by the confusion clouding Seth's mind, he was thinking the same thing._

"_Yeah, well, this is much faster." Jake practically snapped hurriedly, but he did a good job of hiding his thoughts of whatever he didn't want the others to know._

"_I don't want to fight Kori!" Seth argued._

"_It's just a practice bout to see where you two stand. Just get it over with already." Jake thought back tiredly. _

Kori glanced at Seth from the corner of her eyes before they both moved to the center of the clearing, slowly circling each other.

Kori kept her eyes fixed on Seth's feet, following where they went and focusing on his thoughts as well.

Seth raced forward and Kori stood on her hind legs to meet him as he rushed her. Their front paws slammed each other's chest as they snapped their jaws near each others head and neck. Seth shoved against Kori, both falling back on all fours and circling again before he rushed her again.

Kori jumped to the side, barely missing him, and jumped on his back in an attempt to knock him over. Being larger and stronger, Seth stood up with Kori practically clinging to his back. She could hear his laughter echoing in his head.

Kori jumped off and they circled again. Kori rushed forward and reared up to slam into him. The force knocked him backward onto his back, but they both just flipped over their heads until Kori's back was on the ground. They were about to flip again, but Seth slammed his paws down on her chest, pinning her to the ground and knocking the air out of her lungs.

Kori's eyes snapped wide open in shock and she found herself staring deep into a pair of familiar brown eyes. They were the exact same they'd been their whole lives, nothing had changed, except she saw emotions in them she couldn't explain. She saw surprise, confusion, love, but also grief. And an overwhelming urge to make that pain go away filled her.

Seth's paws seemed to shift slightly against her chest, bringing Kori out of her shock. Embarrassment filled her as she realized she'd been staring at him. She rolled over, sliding out from under Seth and galloped into the cover of the trees.

When she was out of their view she phased back and pulled on the clothes that were tied to her leg. She stopped and leaned back against a tree, trying to catch her breath.

What the heck just happened? Seth, Jake, and Leah probably think she's an idiot, and the rest of the pack will probably hear about it soon. Stupid wolf telepathy!

Kori was shaken out of her hyperventilating by the sound of the bushes behind her rustling. She looked behind the tree to see Leah approach her.

"Hey, what the hell was that?" she demanded as she moved to stand in front of her. If Kori wasn't so freaked she'd comment on how different Leah looked. She was at least four inches taller than before, still being a couple inches taller than Kori. Her limbs were longer, with lean, well-developed muscles, but her sleek, black hair was still just past her shoulders.

Kori gulped and breathed deeply, shaking her head slightly as she stared at nothing. "I-I don't…wait! Is Seth okay?" Kori demanded, looking up slightly at Leah. An overpowering need to know if Seth was okay came over her.

Leah looked slightly surprised at her change in behavior, but like normally she didn't show it much. "I pretty sure he is, he _is _the one that pinned you, not the other way around. I was sent to check on you while Jake went after Seth."

"Went after?" Kori repeated in confusion.

"He took off like you, just in the other direction."

Kori licked her lips and nodded, trying calm her breathing down.

"I have to go check on him." she mumbled, turning and walking back the way she came. When she hurriedly entered the now-empty clearing she saw Seth hurry through the bushes on the other side.

"Are you okay?" they both asked at the same time as they stopped in front of each other, resulting in both of them laughing.

"I'm fine, but I didn't hurt you, did I?" Seth asked worriedly. Kori shook her head with a smile.

"No, I'm fine."

Seth smiled before looking her over. "Wow. You look really different."

"I could say the same about you." she teased as she looked him over.

He was only wearing jean shorts, clearly following the example of the other pack members, which showed of his new, and very impressive six pack. He wasn't as large or broad-shouldered as Paul or Sam, he was well-built with firm muscles that flexed whenever he moved and he was at least six or seven inches taller than before, meaning he was about three inches taller than her now. His black hair was still cut short, obviously.

"Alright, there, now that you two have checked on each other you three need to get to Emily's to tell Sam how you did." Jake ordered as he began walking backwards in the direction of his house.

Seth, Kori, and Leah all exchanged confused glances.

"But, I thought _you_ had to be the one to tell him." Kori argued in confusion.

"Yeah," Seth agreed, "I though Sam put you in charge of this whole thing."

"Look, you guys are old enough to take care of yourselves. Heck, Leah's eighteen. I think you're all more than able to walk to Sam's and tell him how you all did. All you have to tell him is I won against Leah, and Seth won against Kori. Simple. See ya." with that Jake turned and ran back through the trees towards their house.

Leah scoffed, her arms crossed over her chest. "Did he seriously just do that?"

Kori rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Yeah. He did. Lets just get this over with." she said as she turned and headed in the opposite direction, towards Emily's house. She'd only been there a couple times before, she was mainly following her nose to get there. The scent of freshly baked muffins wafted through the air, making her mouth water.

"What do you think he had to do that was so important?" Seth asked as they walked, Kori in the middle with the two siblings on either side of her.

Kori shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he's checking to see if Bella came back yet." she suggested with clear disdain in her voice, practically spitting Bella's name as she said it.

Leah looked down at her. "What does your idiot brother see in her? I've been in his head enough times to know the whole story, and I still see no reason for him to be so obsessed with her."

Kori sighed heavily, shaking her head a bit. "I've been asking myself that question for a very long time. I still haven't come up with an answer. I mean, it's obvious she was just using him. Then, the minute she finds out her precious bloodsucker's in danger she up and abandons Jake, basically trampling his heart in the dirt!"

Seth gently took Kori's hand in his own, silently calming her down. She hadn't even noticed she'd started shaking from her anger and hatred for Bella Swan, but the simple gesture from her best friend calmed her down instantly.

Leah studied Kori's face silently throughout her rambling and was silent for a moment.

"I guess it's safe to say you're not a fan of the leech lover." she guessed before looking ahead again.

Kori blinked and looked up at her slightly. "Leech lover. Hhm. That's a new one. Who came up with that name?" she asked with a smile.

Leah snorted with a smirk. "Paul."

Kori laughed quietly. "That doesn't surprise me at all."

They were quiet for another five minutes before they walked through the front door of Emily's small house in the woods. They entered the kitchen, Seth slightly in front of the two girls since they really didn't want to be there.

Emily was at the stove stirring something in a pot, Sam was sitting at the kitchen table watching her with a small smile (which made Leah look away bitterly), Jared was sitting eating a muffin with Kim on his lap, and Paul was sitting next to him also eating a muffin.

Sam looked up as the three entered and stood just inside the doorway. His brows furrowed instantly in confusion.

"Where's Jacob? He was supposed to be with you." he questioned.

Seth and Kori glanced at each other and Kori looked at her feet, silently saying she wasn't going to talk.

Seth turned back to Sam. "Um, about that, he had something he had to do, so he sent us here to tell you that Jake beat Leah in a match and I beat Kori."

Sam stood up, making the chair squeak on the wooden kitchen floor. "He was supposed to match all three of you, not just Leah. I swear I can't trust him with anything." Sam growled almost to himself.

"Did he say what he had to do?" Jared asked curiously, one arm wrapped around Kim's belly.

"Kori thinks he's going to see if Bella came back yet." Seth answered quietly.

Paul snorted. "Figures. If we're lucky she got turned into a leech and is staying away from Forks with her bloodsucker."

"Or killed." Kori added quietly to herself.

The kitchen got quieter as every wolf in the room turned to stare at her. Kori felt her cheeks heat up and was thankful for her naturally tanned skin. Kim and Emily seemed to pick up on the change and paused to look around, trying to find the source of the change.

"Damn!" Jared finally broke the silence with a laugh, "I didn't know you had a temper. I think I like you more than I did five minutes ago."


	5. I won't leave your side

Chapter 5

I won't leave your side

The rest of Monday was pretty uneventful apart from a few things. When Jake finally showed up back at Emily's Sam gave him extra patrols for not following his instructions. Seth, Kori, and Leah all got their tattoo on their right shoulders, which didn't really hurt like Kori expected it to, probably because of their healing abilities and higher pain tolerance. Sam also told Leah and Kori that they'd need to cut their hair soon, because having long hair makes their fur in wolf form longer and more of a hassle. Kori didn't want to cut her hair at all, but she eventually made a deal that she'd get it cut Wednesday, the day after Harry's funeral.

Monday night, Kori tossed and turned in her bed, unable to fall asleep. She had this clenching pain in her stomach and chest. She'd never felt anything like it. It almost hurt to breathe. It also felt like she was crying or something, but she wasn't.

Close to one in the morning Kori found herself glancing over, spotting her sweatshirt. She thought for a moment. Her instincts were screaming that something was wrong with Seth. She needed to make sure he was okay. She sat up, swung her legs off the bed, and reached for her sweatshirt.

Just as her fingers touched it she heard a tap against her window, making her pause. She looked over her shoulder at it, seeing another rock fly up and hit the glass. Kori looked back down at her sweatshirt. 'That's freaky,' she thought before getting up and opening her window.

The moment she stepped back Seth was inside. Kori studied his face. He was breathing heavily and his heart was pounding in her sensitive ears. Kori looked closer. There were tears streaming down his face. Kori felt her heart break a little.

"Oh Seth," she breathed, her voice catching. Seth turned and buried his face in her shoulder, hugging her close to him. Kori wrapped her arms around his bare back without a second thought. His shoulders shook as he tried to muffle his sobs and Kori could feel his warm, wet tears on her T-shirt shoulder, but she didn't care. Seth needed her.

She sniffed, feeling her own tears fall from her eyes as she listened to him cry, stroking her hands up and down his back. They stood there for a few minutes, Kori ran her hand through the hair at the back of his neck, trying anything she could think of to sooth him.

After a few moments he pulled back, looking away from her, obviously embarrassed.

"Sorry I woke you up." he whispered, his voice raspy from crying, "I'll get out of here and let you sleep."

Before he could turn away Kori grabbed his arm. "Seth, it's fine. You can stay here, you know."

Seth smiled gently at her. "I was kind of hoping you'd say that." he whispered quietly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Kori smiled at him and lead him to her bed, scooting as far over to her bedroom wall as she could so he could get in with her.

She sat up against her pillow while Seth laid his head in her lap, not really looking at anything. Kori started running her hand through his hair as she watched his face. He looked up at her and smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry I woke you up. I just started thinking about Dad and…tomorrow's the funeral and…"

"Seth, you don't have to explain and you definitely don't have to apologize." Kori told him gently, "I wasn't even asleep. To be honest, I was just about to go over to your place when I heard rocks hitting my window." she decided to leave out the pain she'd felt in her chest and stomach, she didn't want to sound stupid.

Seth shifted his head slightly and looked up at her with his brows furrowed and a small smile on his face. "Really?"

Kori nodded with a small smile of her own. "And you know, it's okay to cry. You don't have to hide that from me. I'll always be there for you, you know that."

Seth smiled sadly and nodded his head a bit. "Yeah, I know. Thanks Kori." they were silent for a few moments. "Hey, Kori. Can I ask a favor?" Seth asked quietly.

Kori nodded, looking down at him.

"Tomorrow, at the…funeral…will you please just…stay with me?" he asked nervously.

Kori smiled sadly at him. "I won't leave your side, Seth, I promise."

Seth smiled gratefully at her before shifting off her lap and laying his head on the pillow. Kori did the same, both rolling on their sides with their backs facing each other like they usually did. Before too long, both friends were sound asleep.

XXX

Kori scrunched up her face before blinking open her eyes. Her blurry vision cleared to find Seth's face only a few inches from her own.

Now wide awake, Kori stared at his sleeping, gentle features. His warm breath was hitting her face with every breath he took. She'd never really noticed how his copper-toned skin seemed so…soft and perfect, not a blemish in sight. And his soft, sleep-ruffled, black hair stuck out in all directions.

She watched him sleep for a couple moments before she heard voices just outside her bedroom door coming closer. She closed her eyes, not wanting to be caught watching him.

She heard her door peep open and smelled her brother.

"Yeah, he's here, Sue." Jake spoke quietly, probably talking on the phone since Kori didn't smell Sue anywhere. "Yeah, I'll tell him. See you in a few hours."

Footsteps came closer and Jake's scent got stronger.

"Hey guys, wake up." Kori blinked her eyes open, trying to make it look like she'd just woken up. Jake was standing by her bed looking down at them. Seth blinked his own eyes open, looked at her for a moment before looking over his shoulder at Jacob.

"Sue just called. You need to get home to get ready." he told Seth, who nodded and stretched slightly. Jake nodded to them before turning and leaving the room.

Seth turned to look at Kori, and she wondered if he was going to mention how they'd woken up. Normally they slept through the night back to back, they'd never woken up with their faces that close together.

"I guess I'd better get home." Seth smiled slightly at her, but it didn't reach his eyes like it usually did. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Kori nodded and smiled back at him. "Yeah, see you."

After Seth left Kori took a shower and got ready. She finally found a black dress that miraculously still fit her since it was kind of big on her before her growth spurt.

It was a simple black dress that left her shoulders bare, had sleeves that went just below her elbows, clung to her body, flared out near the bottom, and went just above her knees.

She decided to try curling her hair with her sisters' old curling iron they'd left behind, which she'd only done a few times in the past. She then used bobby pins to keep her hair hanging over her shoulder. Even with it curled, her hair still hung to the bottom of her chest.

She decided not to use any make up. Being a tomboy she normally didn't even do this much, but she wanted to look nice. She just didn't see any need for make up. She also slipped on a pair of black sandals.

Finally, they got their dad in Jake's rabbit and drove to the Clearwater's house. As soon as they entered Billy rolled over to talk to Charlie and Sue, Jake went to talk to Embry, and Kori headed to the couch in the living room where Seth was sitting by himself.

"Hey." she greeted quietly as she sat down next to him, "You clean up nice." she teased lightly.

He smiled a little at her, his elbows leaned on his knees as he leaned forward. "Thanks." he answered. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black dress pants, and a red tie.

As she promised, Kori stayed by Seth's side as they waited for things to start. A few people came up to talk to them, mostly adults offering their condolences.

After a little bit Charlie walked up to them.

"Hey, Kiddo. How you holding up?" he asked, patting Seth's shoulder.

Seth smiled a little. "I'm doing okay, Charlie. Mostly tired right now, I guess. Didn't get the best sleep last night." he glanced knowingly at Kori, making her smile back at him.

Charlie looked over at Kori, too. "Man, you two certainly have grown up fast! Just look at you," he added, gesturing to Kori with both hands, making her blush and look down, "you've grown into a beautiful young lady."

Seth snickered quietly at Kori's embarrassment. "Thanks Charlie." she responded, twisting her fingers. She looked up at him. "So, um, how's Bella doing?" she asked curiously. She didn't want Charlie knowing she knew Bella was gone.

Charlie sighed and put his hands on his hips. "I wish I knew. She just up and left sometime Friday night while I was here. I don't where she went or anything." he shrugged, trying to act like it wasn't as big of a deal as it sounded, but Kori and Seth's sensitive ears picked up on the nervous tremor in his voice.

Kori smiled reassuringly up at Charlie. She looked to him like an Uncle. He was always around when she was growing up, being another of her father's best friends. She felt so bad that he was worrying about his daughter, who didn't deserve such a great father figure. Couldn't she see she was hurting him?

"Don't worry, Charlie. I'm sure she's fine." Seth reassured him, reaching up and patting his shoulder.

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Well, I'll just leave you kids to socialize with people your own age." he joked, earning a laugh from the two teenagers, before he headed over to a couple adults Kori didn't recognize.

Leah approached them and sat on Seth's other side as he left.

"Hey Lee. You look really pretty. I like your hair." Kori smiled.

Leah was wearing a simple v-neck black dress with short sleeves that flared out around the waist below a silver belt, going to just below her knees. Her newly-cut black hair went to about her chin, the strands closest to her face pinned back.

The corners of Leah's mouth lifted for a fraction of a second before her face went back to its neutral expression. "Thanks. When are you cutting your hair?"

"Emily's going to cut it tomorrow when I go over there." Kori answered.

Before Leah could respond Old Quil announced that the ceremony would be starting soon and that everyone needed to go outside and take a seat. The ceremony was being held in the Clearwater's backyard before they'd all go to the cemetery.

Leah, Sue, Seth, and Charlie all sat in the front row. Billy, Kori, and Jacob were all sitting in the second row behind them. Old Quil was standing up in the front, Harry's casket just behind him.

After the ceremony different people took turns going up and telling stories about Harry. Kori felt the same pain in her chest that she'd felt the previous night, it slowly increased in pain until she had to look up at Seth. She could just see the side of his face. The eye she could see was glistening with tears he refused to let fall. His body was shaking, slowly getting worst with every second. He'd phase if he didn't calm down.

Acting on instinct, Kori leaned forward and rested her hand on his shoulder. He seemed to jump at her touch, but his shaking stopped instantly and he looked over his shoulder at her. She smiled reassuringly, giving his shoulder a squeeze. He smiled tightly at her, but put his own hand over hers, keeping it on his shoulder.

So that's what she did. She kept her hand on his shoulder for the rest of the ceremony.

Finally, Old Quil stepped back up to the front. "Now, will the paul bearers come forward? Everyone else is dismissed."

Kori let go of Seth's shoulder slowly as everyone in the crowd got up from their seats. Kori walked up to the front along with Jake, Seth, and Leah. Sam and Emily met up with them, causing a low growl to rumble in Leah's chest. Harry had specifically wanted the six of them to be his paul bearers.

On one side from front to back was Sam, Kori, and Leah. On the other side was Emily, Seth, and Jacob.

They carried the casket around the side of the house and to the hearse parked in front of the house. Once it was loaded inside everyone got in their separate vehicles and drove to the cemetery.

When they got there everyone stood around as the casket was lowered into the ground. After about fifteen minutes everyone split off into groups, talking among themselves. Kori looked around, discreetly sniffing the air to see if she could find Seth, but everyone's scents blurred together, making that difficult. Then, she got the smallest tug in her chest. Before she knew what was happening, Kori found herself walking through the crowd, following the tug until she found Seth sitting on the grass next to Harry's burial site.

She walked up to him from behind and sat down next to him on the damp grass, crossing her legs and tucking her dress down in her lap so no one could see her underwear. Hey, it may not be ladylike, but all Kori cared about was being there for Seth like she promised.

They were quiet for a few moments. Kori was staring at the wooden top of the casket that she could barely see inside the hole. Seth was staring at the ground, plucking pieces of grass out of the ground.

"Thanks." he murmured quietly, still picking at the grass.

Kori glanced at him. "For what?"

Seth looked up at her, his face blank. "For calming me down during the ceremony. I'm pretty sure I would've phased if you hadn't done that."

Kori shrugged. "All I did was put my hand on your shoulder. It wasn't that big of a deal."

Seth nodded. "Yes it was. It was weird, I instantly calmed down when you did that. I was still upset and all, but my shaking stopped almost instantly."

Kori smiled gently at him. "Well, you're welcome. I'm glad it helped."

Seth returned the smile, but both looked back when they heard their names being called. Sue was waving them over while the guests were getting into their cars. It was probably time to head back to the Clearwater's for the wake.

Seth stood up and offered his hand, which Kori took with a smile so he could pull her to her feet. Neither really noticed that they didn't let go as they walked towards their parents.


	6. Mutual Understanding

Chapter 6

Mutual Understanding

"Emily, I'm here." Kori called as she stepped through the back door leading into the kitchen. Emily was taking a sheet of cookies out of the oven. She looked up and smiled.

"Hey Kori." she greeted happily before taking off her oven mitts and pulling a chair away from the table. "Just have a seat and we'll get started."

Kori sighed and did as she was told. "Okay, lets just get this over with." she murmured. She sniffed the air, trying to smell past the warm scent of chocolate chip cookies. Having a heightened sense of smell had its advantages.

Sam, Paul, Quil, and Seth were in the living room, the sound of some kind of sports game playing on the TV.

Emily stepped up behind Kori's chair and brushed through her hair really quick. On the way here Kori had realized what everyone had been talking about. She ran to Emily's in wolf form, and her fur was extremely long and shaggy, and she knew she'd get really annoyed with it pretty fast. But she was still going to miss her long hair.

When the snip of scissors sounded in Kori's ear she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself, her pounding heart beating loudly in her ears. She could already hear echoes of what her classmates were going to say.

"Would you calm down in there?!" Paul's voice shouted from the living room, making Kori open her eyes, "I can't hear anything over your spastic heartbeat!"

Kori growled. "Shut up, Lahote!"

It was quiet for a moment before Emily spoke quietly, probably attempting to get a little privacy with four wolves in her living room. "I don't really get why you're so upset about getting your hair cut. I mean, I'll admit it sucks, but it's not so bad."

"Says you." Kori answered quietly. "You're lucky, you'd look beautiful even if you were bald. My long hair is the only thing that makes me look like a girl."

Emily paused in cutting Kori's hair and moved around into her eyesight. "You think _I'm _lucky?" she asked, pointing at the three long scars traveling from her hairline to her chin.

Kori shook her head before stilling herself so Emily could continue. "That's not what I meant." she whispered, careful the others couldn't hear, "Even with _those_ you're still one of the most beautiful women on the rez. I'm just plain. My long hair was really the only thing for me to be proud of."

Emily was quiet for a moment, making Kori think she agreed with her. "There's always someone in the world who thinks someone else is beautiful. Meanwhile, very few people look in the mirror and see what everyone else sees. Once upon a time, I may have looked in the mirror and saw a beautiful woman, but I don't anymore, no matter how often I'm told I'm beautiful. Whenever I look in the mirror, all I see is an ugly woman with three hideous scars." Emily's voice quivered slightly near the end, making Kori look down slightly. "But, they're also a reminder of something good. They remind me that I'll always have Sam."

Emily moved over to a counter and picked up a small mirror, handing it to Kori. Kori swallowed before looking into it.

Her black hair was still parted down the side, like it always was. It was cut just at her chin, like Leah's, making the ends curve in towards her face a little.

The sound of the porch steps creaking made her look up. Leah walked in through the door, her usual scowl on her face. She stopped when she saw Kori. Kori bit her lip and waited for her to say something.

Leah blinked before she nodded. "I like it." she said before grabbing two cookies and heading into the living room. Kori smiled a little and sighed in relief.

"If Leah complimented you, that means you must look nice. She doesn't offer compliments very often." Emily spoke from where she was at the sink washing some dishes, "And I agree with her. It makes you look older. What do you think?"

Kori tilted her head back and forth to see it better in the mirror. "It's actually not as bad as I thought it'd be." she admitted quietly, smiling a little. She looked up, "Thanks Emily."

Emily smiled back at her, "No problem. Why don't you relax with the others?"

Kori nodded and stood up, taking five cookies from the cookie sheet and heading toward the living room. She paused before she rounded the corner. This was the moment of truth. She took a deep breath and stepped hesitantly around the corner, pausing just in the large doorway.

Sam, Paul, and Quil were sitting on one of the sofas watching the TV while Leah was sitting on a recliner with Seth sitting on the floor, leaning his back against the arm of the recliner. Quil glanced up before turning his full attention on Kori, his eyes widening slightly. He wolf whistled, drawing everyone's attention to Kori, making her look down, her face heating up.

"Looking good, Kor!" he called, making Kori laugh quietly.

"Yeah, you look like a teenage Dora the Explorer." Paul spoke with a sarcastic edge, making Kori look up, her smile gone, before he turned back to the TV.

"Shut _up_, Paul!" Leah shouted. Kori ignored him and moved around the recliner to sit next to Seth, slightly behind the recliner so she was mostly hidden.

She took two of the cookies she had and held them out to Seth, who smiled at her and took them.

"I like it." he whispered, his eyes examining her hair and face. Kori blushed and smiled at him.

"Kori?" Quil called in an all-too-innocent voice. Kori looked around the recliner at him. His bottom lip was out in a pout, his big brown eyes sad and pleading as they glanced from her face to the cookies in her hand.

Kori sighed and tossed a cookie to him, which he caught .

"Thank you." he called happily, like a little kid who got a piece of candy.

Kori smiled before taking a bite of her own cookies.

"Kori." Sam's voice drew Kori's attention to the other side of the room, where the alpha was sitting on the couch.

"Yeah?"

"I'm thinking you're probably going to be back in school on Friday."

Kori coughed, choking on her cookie that she swallowed wrong. "What?! Friday? As in the day after tomorrow? Are you serious?"

Sam narrowed his eyes a bit at her. "Yes, I'm serious. And Seth and Leah will probably be going back Tuesday."

"But…" Kori tried to think of something to say. She didn't want to go back by herself!

"What, Kori?" Sam asked, exasperated.

"Um…shouldn't…shouldn't I go back the same day or something? I mean…they phased before me. Why am I going back so much sooner than them?" she asked carefully, trying not to make anyone mad at her.

"Because, they're going through a more traumatic experience than you. Besides, you have more self-control."

Kori tiled her head a little. "What do you mean?"

"He means you're a natural." Quil answered, putting his arms behind his head as he leaned back on the couch, "Kinda like Jacob."

Kori blinked and felt heat quiver up her spine as she glared at Quil. "What?" she growled.

Surprise flashed through Quil's eyes at her reaction. "Um…you know. You have a better control of your emotions, just like your brother."

Kori's body started quivering. "I am _nothing_ like Jacob." she snarled, sounding more animalistic than human.

"Chill out." Paul groaned, "It was a compliment. You Black's are all the same."

"No we're _not_!" she snarled, her whole body starting to blur.

"Kori, it's okay. Ignore him." Seth told her calmly, but Kori didn't seem to hear him.

"Kori, calm down." Sam ordered, but his voice didn't hold the Alpha command, so Kori's body ignored him, too.

"Jeeze." Paul muttered, "She's worse than me."

Kori leapt to her feet and raced out of the room, through the kitchen, and out the door. When she was outside she slowed to a walk, clutching her hair in both fists with her arms above her head, breathing heavily through her clenched teeth.

Her body was still quivering and she could feel heat radiating from her flesh.

Deep down, she knew she was overreacting, but it just made her mad. Going into school her teachers would always say things like, 'Oh, I had your brother and sisters in my class! They were so wonderful!', or 'I don't understand why you're struggling in this class. Your brother was one of my best students!', or even, 'You look so much like your sisters!'. It was annoying! She'd even been called Rachel or Rebecca several times by her teachers!

And now she turns into a giant wolf and still, all anyone can say is that she's just like Jacob. It just sucks!

In a flash of rage Kori spun around, throwing her fist into a tree trunk with all her strength. A loud crack sounded through the air and the tree trembled under impact. Panting, Kori glared at the tree for a few moments before she slowly pulled her fist away, revealing a fist-sized impression in the bark as well as a lightning-shaped crack. Her fist was tingling, but it didn't hurt.

Kori's breathing calmed down and she felt like all her rage just flooded out of her body in a _swoosh_.

Letting a long sigh escape her lungs, Kori turned and decided to head back inside. She didn't want to phase and risk Embry, who was supposed to be on patrol, see what was in her head.

XXX

Emily's head whipped around in shock as Kori bolted through her kitchen and out the back door. She paused her stirring to watch through the window.

Kori seemed to be pacing with her hands in her hair. Then she whipped around and punched a tree, making the whole thing shake. Emily flinched at the sound, her eyes wide in shock. She turned down the burner on the stove and walked into the living room, stopping just in the doorway to stare around at the pack members gathered in the room.

"What. Did. You. Do?" she demanded slowly with her hands on her hips, directing a more firm glare at Paul, knowing he probably had something to do with it.

Quil was the one to answer. "I don't know what happened! All I said was that she has a great amount of self-control! Like Jacob! It was a compliment! Then she spazzed out and left."

"She's probably just mad that she has to go back to school." Paul answered, eyes fixed on the TV like nothing happened. "After all, she doesn't have any friends there."

Seth growled. "Yes she does! Leave her alone!"

Paul narrowed his eyes slightly at the younger wolf. "Then why's she always alone? Every time I see her, in the hallways, at lunch, before and after school…she's always by herself. If she has so many friends, than where are they?"

"Paul, that's enough. Quit causing problems." Sam ordered, not using his alpha voice, but Paul let it drop anyway.

"Just be nice." Emily ordered before she went back into the kitchen to stir the chili she was cooking.

XXX

Kori walked back in slowly, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her jean shorts with her head ducked down. Instead of sitting in her place by Seth, she decided to sit as close as she could to the doorway between the kitchen and living room. So she sat on the floor on the opposite side of the recliner Leah was sitting on, her back leaning against the wall next to the doorway.

Sam turned to look over at her, and she tried to ignore him. "Kori, I've decided we should play it safe and wait a few more days before we let you go back to school. You'll probably go back the same time as Seth and Leah, around Monday or Tuesday." he told her as he got up and walked to the kitchen.

Kori smiled and glanced at Seth, who was smiling back at her. "Okay, thanks Sam." she called into the kitchen.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Pfft. Figures." he grumbled.

Kori looked over at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, barely hearing Quil sigh, "Here we go again."

Paul raised one eyebrow at her. "Just observing that you always get what you want. You're nothing more than a spoiled brat, like _Jacob_." he sneered, knowing that comment would get to her.

Kori forced her body to suppress the shivers that wanted to surge through her. Instead she turned to stare at the TV, ignoring him.

"What's the matter? Did I touch a nerve?" he taunted, making another shiver run through her body, her wolf threatening to take over. "You don't like it when people don't pity you and give you what you want?"

"Shut up!" Kori snapped, giving in to the urge to glare at him. "I'm not a brat! I'm not spoiled! And I'm _not_ Jacob!"

"And you're not popular, either." Paul added easily, a cocky smirk gracing his features, "No one wants to be around you. You have no friends. It's so pathetically sad. And you don't even try, either. Most people would at least sit at a table with a bunch of other people, but not you. You'd rather sit by yourself so everyone can see and feel bad for you. You're nothing but an attention whore."

"No I'm not!" Kori shouted, feeling more shivers run up her spine, gradually getting stronger. "I don't have a choice!"

"You had a choice." Paul snapped before she could continue. "Kim and Embry offered for you to sit with the pack last Friday. You're the one who chose to turn it down."

"Cause you clearly didn't want me to sit there!" Kori yelled.

"You're right. I didn't." Paul spoke seriously, an angry glint in his eyes. "I already have to put up with Jake. I don't want to have to be around you, too."

Kori felt pain slice through her stomach, remembering Jackson and his friends saying something similar. But instead of dwelling on it she used it to fuel her already-growing rage. "You think I want to be around you?! I don't! You're this stupid, cocky, know-it-all ass! You don't know anything about me, and you never will!" she screamed before she stood up and ran back out the kitchen door, just like she'd done only a few minutes ago, but this time she let her wolf take over the minute her feet touch the forest floor.

She felt tears burn her eyes as she raced through the trees, memories forcing their way to the surface as she ran blindly. She felt every pain like it was happening to her at that moment. She remembered every punch, slap, kick. Every time she was slammed into the wall, her stuff knocked from her hands, hit with a locker door. It all blended together until she couldn't even keep her own memories apart.

"_Kori."_

A horribly familiar voice tore through her thoughts through their wolf telepathy, making her gasp and slow her run. When she saw a familiar bush she stopped and phased into human form. She stumbled to the bush and pulled out the shorts and tank top with the built-in sports bra, pulling them on quickly.

She crawled over to a small thicket, slipping under the thorny vines and branches and scooting as far back as she could, holding her knees to her chest.

'Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!' she thought to herself, 'How could you be so stupid?! You should have known _someone_ would be phased in! But why did it have to be _him_?!'

She stopped her mental rambling when a pair of bare feet stepped into her view, standing only a few feet from the thicket she was hiding in. He seemed to have his back to her. Kori held her breath, hoping he'd go away.

"You going to come out on your own, or am I going to have to rip that thicket up from the roots?" he asked casually.

Kori swallowed thickly before crawling forward and out of the shelter of the thorny branches. She stayed on her knees as she looked ahead.

Paul was sitting on the ground, leaning calmly back against a tree. Their eyes met and he nodded to the spot next to him.

Kori looked down before climbing to her feet and walking slowly over to the tree. She sat down next to him and leaned her back against the trunk, refusing to look at him. She didn't want anyone in the pack to know the truth, and now the worst possible scenario had happened.

It was quiet for a couple minutes, but Kori couldn't take it any longer.

"Who else was phased in?" she asked, cursing her voice for shaking.

Paul was looking at the ground as he answered, "No one. Lucky for you Embry had already phased out to switch places with Sam, so no one except me and you were in wolf form."

Kori nodded. After a few moments she sighed. "How much did you see?" she whispered.

Paul glanced at her before looking back at the ground. "Enough. Want to tell me what it was I saw, exactly?"

"Not really." Kori mumbled. "Why'd you follow me?" she asked.

Paul sighed and leaned his head back against the tree trunk, closing his eyes. "When you took off I decided to follow you, make sure you didn't do anything stupid, cause then Sam would blame me." he opened his eyes and glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "Quit trying to change the subject. What the hell was that?"

Kori closed her eyes and looked away from him. "Why do you care?" she asked, her voice shaking, "I mean, you hate me and all. Why do you want to know?"

Paul was quiet and Kori risked a glance at him. He was sitting with his knees bent up, his forearms resting on his knees as he looked down at the ground.

"Just answer the question." he murmured quietly.

'Why not?' Kori thought to herself.

"Alright, fine. I…" she took a deep breath to steady herself. She'd never talked about it out loud before. "Ever since this school year started, this large group of kids in my grade started, you know, bullying me. It's mostly a large group of guys, like half a dozen or so, as well as a few girls. At first it was little things, you know? Like calling me names, spreading rumors about me, bumping into me in the halls. Then…gradually everything started getting…worse." she looked over at Paul.

He was watching her with a serious expression. His brown eyes didn't have the normal, mean glint in them. She couldn't place the expression he wore, either.

"Worse how?" he asked quietly after her long pause. She looked away from him again.

"Like…Well, I've been slapped, punched, kicked, shoved against a wall…I've even been locked inside my locker twice."

Paul's eyes widened and he wore an expression that said 'seriously?!'.

"Were the people who…punched you and stuff…was that the guys?" he asked slowly, a small shiver running up his back.

Kori shrugged. "Most of that kind of stuff was the girls. They have a tendency to follow me to the bathroom after lunch, cause they know that's where I go. They gang up on me and tend to just slap me around, you know. It's usually not so bad."

"If they follow you in there, why do you go in there?" Paul asked in confusion.

Kori gave him a look. "When you gotta go you gotta go, Paul. It's kind of hard to hold it all day."

Paul smirked and a small chuckle came from his chest. He shook his head and looked down. "Fair enough. So, why don't you go at a different time or place?"

"One; my teachers don't like letting us go to the bathroom during class, therefore lunch is really the only time I can. And two; the only other girls bathroom in the school has been out of order the entire school year."

Paul nodded slowly. Then, he thought for a moment. "What does Jake think of all this? Why hasn't he done anything about it?"

Kori felt a couple tears slip down her cheeks. She wiped her face quickly and looked away.

"He doesn't know." she choked out.

"How does he not know?" Paul demanded, "He's your brother! He lives with you! How hasn't he noticed anything?"

Kori shrugged. "Well, this whole thing started around the time Bella started hanging out with him." she glanced up at him.

Paul's eyes changed as a bit of understanding appeared in them. "Figures." he snorted. "But, you could have told him."

Kori glared slightly up at him. "What's the point of telling him? If he can't see what's right in front of him, that's his own fault." she paused as she thought. "You've been inside our house before, right?"

Paul raised one eyebrow at the sudden change of subject, but nodded anyway.

"So you know how thin our walls are, right?" Kori continued, her voice sounding bitter. Again, Paul nodded, still not knowing where this was going.

"Jake's room his right next to mine. Our walls are thin enough that we used to have conversations through the wall in the middle of the night when we were little." Kori paused for a moment, "Now, I don't know if saying this is going to prove how dumb he is right now, or if it'll make me look like a wimp, but there are some nights where I'll cry myself to sleep. I don't know how it's possible that a werewolf with super hearing can't hear that!"

Paul watched as Kori hugged her knees, taking deep breaths as her body shook.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you all this." she continued her rant. "I mean, you've made it painfully obvious that you hate me, so I don't know why I'm suddenly spilling my guts to you." she paused to catch her breath, her whole body still quivering.

"You're wrong."

Kori's head snapped up to stare at Paul in shock. He wasn't looking at her anymore, he was staring at the ground between his feet.

"What?" she whispered.

Paul swallowed, making his Adam's apple bob. "I don't hate you. I never did. If anything I may have…resented you?" he seemed to think over his words.

"Why?" Kori asked, dropping her knees so she sat cross-legged. "I've never done anything to you that I know of."

"It's not something you did." Paul responded, running his hand through his cropped, black hair. "And it's not just you. It's…your whole family."

Kori scrunched up her face in confusion. "What-"

"You and your brother have the perfect life, the perfect family. Me? My mom didn't want me. She divorced my dad and ran off with her boyfriend when I was eight. Then, my dad started drinking…You guys have the perfect home, your dad's great…and yet all Jake does anymore is whine and complain about the leech lover. He doesn't get how freaking lucky he is!" Paul exclaimed, both hands clutching his hair.

"So, I guess, if anything, I was jealous." he admitted quietly, letting his hands drop from his hair. "But now…now I realize I was wrong." he looked over at her, their eyes meeting, "You're life isn't perfect. You're not a spoiled brat. Your brother still is," he added, making Kori chuckle slightly, "but you're not."

Kori looked away. "Thanks…I…I didn't know your-"

"Don't worry about it." he interrupted. "My mom means nothing to me. Just forget I ever told you that part."

Kori nodded.

"Does this have anything to do with why you eat by yourself?" he asked quietly.

Kori looked down. "Well, sort of. I don't really have any friends at school. Which, I guess, is weird because both my older sisters and my brother were all extremely popular in school." she added with a hint of bitterness to her tone.

Paul was quiet for a few moments, debating if he should ask his next question or not.

"So, does _anyone_ know about all this?" Paul asked, turning his head to look at her. "About the bullying? I mean, you've probably told Seth at least, right?"

Kori bit her lip and grimaced guiltily. "I haven't told anyone. Paul, please you can't tell anyone anything. Please." she begged, seeing the doubtful expression on his face.

"Why can't you tell the pack? If they knew they'd be willing to help. I mean, come on if a bunch of juniors and seniors went up and threatened those idiots I think it's safe to they'd leave you alone."

Kori shook her head vigorously, a stubborn expression on her face. "No! This is _my_ problem. Not the packs, mine. I've handled it this long, I think I'll be fine."

"But for how long?" Paul cut in, not missing a beat, "You said yourself it started out not so bad, then it got worse. What if it gets worse again? What will you do if it gets out of your control?"

"It won't." Kori insisted. "I can take it, okay? I'm not some wimpy little girl anymore. I'm a shape-shifter just like you guys. I can take care of myself. Come on, if any of them so much as punch me they'll break their hand. I'll be fine. Please, promise you won't tell?" she begged, bringing out the best puppy eyes she could manage.

Paul narrowed his eyes, examining her face. Then he looked away and muttered, "Damn." he turned back around and pointed a finger in her face. "Alright, here's the deal. I won't say anything to anyone about it, however if it gets worse, then either you have to tell the pack or I will. Got it?"

Kori bit her lip and sighed. "Okay, fine. Deal." she agreed, thinking deep down it wouldn't get any worse.

"Good." Paul looked around. "We'd better head back before everyone thinks I killed you or something."

Kori smirked as they both stood up and walked back towards Emily's in human form.

When they neared the back porch Paul shoved Kori's shoulder gently, laughing as he ran to beat her inside. She laughed, too, as she ran after him, managing to shove past him to get inside first. They each grabbed a muffin from the plate in the middle of the kitchen table before sitting down in two chairs to eat them.

They looked up to see Emily watching them from the stove, her eyes slightly wide in surprise. They glanced at each other before looking back up at her, both smiling slightly.

Emily blinked before smiling, her brows furrowed in light confusion. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. You two are laughing and joking around with each other instead of screaming and going for each other's throats. What changed?" she asked happily as she moved to the sink to wash some dishes.

"Um," Kori glanced at Paul, who looked back at her before he answered.

"Lets just say…we came to a mutual understanding."


	7. Back to school

Chapter 7

Back to school

"Will you _please_ calm down? You're starting to stress _me_ out." Jake groaned from the drivers seat. Kori glared at him slightly.

"I am calm!" she snapped back before looking back out the front windshield of Jacob's Volkswagen Rabbit.

"Kori, your heart's pounding so loud a human could probably hear it,_ and_ you keep fiddling with your fingers." Jake pointed out. "You need to calm down. It's just school."

"Says you." she grumbled, feeling sick again.

It was currently Tuesday; Kori, Seth, and Leah's first day back at school since phasing.

Since her and Paul's…talk; a lot had happened. Bella came back Friday with her leech and the rest of the Cullens, and on Saturday Jacob confronted her and Edward. Big shocker, Bella told him she'd always choose Edward, crushing Jake's heart in the process. Sunday, Kori also participated in her first chase. The redhead they'd been chasing a lot lately came through La Push once again, so the whole pack tried to chase her down. She got away, not that Kori expected anything less. She was good, Kori gave her that.

Monday night, Kori was too stressed out to sleep, she tried everything and nothing could work. Then around midnight Seth stopped by and they talked for a few minutes, cuddling under Kori's blanket. They'd never cuddled before, but for some reason Kori actually felt comfortable with Seth's arms wrapped around her. They didn't mean to fall asleep like that. Seth just seemed to know Kori was stressed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her head into his chest. They talked for a few minutes and Kori didn't even remember falling asleep. They woke up Tuesday morning like that, Kori's head on Seth's chest, his chin above her head.

So, after taking a quick shower and eating a large breakfast, Kori climbed into her big brother's car, and they headed to school.

"I really don't see what's so bad about school, Kor. Is…there something going on?" Jake asked, his voice quiet and Kori could hear concern in his tone. He glanced at her for a moment before focusing his eyes back on the road, waiting for her answer.

Should she tell him? She kept saying that she'd tell him if he asked. And now, after what felt like forever, here he was, asking her. But…could she do it?

"No." she whispered, answering both questions.

They were quiet for a couple moments and Kori closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to help herself relax. When she felt the car stop she opened her eyes, and really wished she hadn't.

They were parked in the school parking lot. Kori felt her stomach clench and her hand flew up to grip the door handle.

"I'm gonna be sick." she croaked.

"Open the door." Jake ordered, leaning over her to open the door for her. Kori turned so her legs dangled out of the car, taking deep breaths of fresh air as she hunched her back. She felt a large, warm hand rubbing circles on her back.

"You alright?" Jake asked gently.

Kori swallowed and nodded before getting out of the car and walking over to where most of the pack was standing by Jared's truck.

Seth turned and smiled as she approached.

"Hey," he greeted quietly, "how's it going?" he asked, his voice quiet in concern.

Kori managed a small smile. "I'm fine." she reassured him.

"Hey guys." she greeted everyone as they joined the whole group.

"Hey Kori. So, how'd you sleep last night?" Paul asked teasingly.

Kori snapped her head around to stare at Seth, who was glaring at Paul with a bright red face. He looked sheepishly at her after a moment, his face still flushed.

"Um, I needed to get home fast, so I had to travel in wolf form. Paul was on patrol." he mumbled in embarrassment.

Kori groaned before risking a glance at the rest of the pack. Most of them were smirking at her, except Leah, who looked like she didn't want to be there at all.

"Oh, leave her alone, Paul. It's not that big of a deal." Kim scolded him, one arm latched around Jared's torso with his arm around her waist.

Paul smirked down at her. "You're just saying that because you sleep with Jared every night."

Kim blushed and buried her face in Jared's arm. Jared just smiled fondly down at her, not bothering to deny Paul's claim.

"On a different note, you _are_ eating with us now, right Kor?" Embry asked in an innocent, childlike voice.

Kori grimaced as, once again, she was the center of attention. Even Leah was looking curiously at her. Kori had given up denying that she ate alone over the past week, the whole pack knew she did, so she gave up lying about that.

Leah snapped her out of her thoughts, "You better not leave me alone with all of them, Kori, or I'll make sure you're miserable on patrol later!" she threatened. Sam had arranged patrols so the newer pack members were partnered with a couple different wolves, either another newer member or a senior member. Kori, luckily, was either with Paul, Seth, or Leah most of the time.

Kori chewed her bottom lip and looked at the sky for a moment. She could feel the whole pack staring at her, waiting for her answer. By lunch, the whole school would know she was a member of the 'cult', so it would only draw more attention to her if she continued to eat alone.

"If you still choose to eat alone, we'll just come up to you and carry you over to our table in front of everyone." Embry cut in, Quil nodding his head in agreement with a creepy smile.

Kori narrowed her eyes at him, but failed at glaring because she couldn't keep a smile off her face. She laughed quietly and shook her head.

"Alright, fine. I'll eat with you guys. Happy?"

Jared, Quil, Seth, and Embry cheered, unfortunately drawing the attention of several students who were walking by. Jake glanced at the front doors of the school.

"Well, we better head inside." he announced to everyone as he nodded his head towards the doors.

Kori swallowed thickly before following the group. When they were near the front steps to the school she felt a large, warm hand rest on her shoulder comfortingly. She looked up to see Paul walking next to her. He nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.

She smiled gratefully at him before he took his hand back and they entered the large, surprisingly intimidating doors.

Kori split off from the rest of the group, telling them she'd see them later, and headed to her first class. She entered the history classroom and approached Mrs. Brown's desk. There wasn't any other students in the room yet, because the 5-minute bell hadn't wrung yet. Once she got all her make up work Kori went to sit in her seat. She sat in the row closest to the side of the room with the door, three seats from the front.

She noticed Mrs. Brown looked almost scornful when she approached her. Probably because it was obvious she'd joined the 'cult', being 5 inches taller than before and having the same tattoo on her right shoulder, which was visible thanks to the red tank top she was wearing. Probably not the best shirt to wear her first day back. It was only going to draw more unwanted attention.

A few minutes later, after the bell rang to tell everyone to get to class, Kori got out her history textbook, making it look like she was busy.

"Oh. My. God." a familiar voice spoke as someone entered the classroom. Kori bit her tongue to keep herself from talking as she stared at her open textbook. Someone sat down in the seat at the front of Kori's row, only one empty seat between them.

"When I heard you joined the cult, I almost didn't believe it." Liz continued her rant, "I mean, I knew you were desperate for friends, but I didn't think they were that desperate for members."

Kori bit down harder on her tongue, tasting the metallic taste of blood, as her free hand moved to grip the corner of her desk.

"What-now you think you're too good to talk to me?" Liz asked sarcastically.

Kori continued to stare at her book, wishing class would start soon.

After a moment, Liz decided to keep talking. "You know, steroids really didn't do you any good. You just look gross. Now, _Seth Clearwater_…" the way she purred Seth's name made Kori feel sick as a shiver ran up her spine, her grip on her desk corner tightening. "It's not hard to guess what's under that shirt." Kori remembered Seth was wearing a formfitting green T-shirt, it showed off his impressive abs well. She lifted her head to glare at Liz, ignoring the flash of satisfaction in her hazel eyes at getting a reaction.

"Leave him out of this." she growled, trying hard to sound semi-human.

Liz simply smirked. "You really don't have a say in that, Kori. After all, it was _you_ that always insisted you and Seth would never be more than friends, right?" Kori growled deep in her chest, finding it harder to suppress it.

"What would Jackson think about that?" Kori asked, clinging to her last shred of sense. Jackson and Liz had been in a relationship since the second month of the school year. They pretty much met through a common interest, making Kori's life hell.

Liz's confident smirk didn't falter. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him." she answered innocently, but the meaning was far from innocent. "Say, what do you think Seth would say if I invited him over to my place? Maybe we could study a little…anatomy. If you know what I mean."

Kori's patience was about to snap when a loud _CRACK _echoed through the room. In that second all the other students in the room stopped their conversations and turned to stare at Kori. She looked down as her anger started to slowly fade away. In her clenched fist was the corner of her desk, snapped clean off. Her eyes slowly widened as she stared at it, while everyone else stared at her.

Mrs. Brown's chair squeaked harshly against the floor as she stood up.

"Kori Black!"

Kori cringed. This was going to be a long day.

XXX

Kori approached the pack's table and plopped her tray down in a empty spot between Jared and Seth. She tossed a folded up note onto Jake's lunch tray where he was sitting across from her.

"Here! You're supposed to give that to dad because apparently I'm not responsible enough!" she snapped before she plopped down in her seat, picking up her fork so she could nibble away at her food.

The whole pack was quiet as they looked at her. Jake looked between her and the note on his tray.

"What's this?" he asked, pointing at the paper.

"It's called paper." she answered.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Kori."

Kori gestured to the paper with her free hand. "I gave it to you. Feel free to read it." she offered.

Jake looked doubtfully at her before picking up the paper, unfolding it, and reading it silently to himself. Embry and Paul on either side of him tried to read it over his shoulder, but they couldn't. Jake's eyes widened and he looked up at his sister.

"Kori!" he shouted in surprise.

"What'd she do?"

"What happened?"

"What does it say?"

The pack bombarded Jake with questions as he continued to stare at his sister.

"You can read it out loud to them if you want. They'd probably find out eventually." she added, pointing to her head with her free hand, implying wolf telepathy.

Jake sighed before looking back down at the paper. "'To the Parent or Guardian of Kori Black. We regret to inform you that you now owe the school $90 to replace a desk that Kori destroyed.

Sincerely, Janet Brown.'"

Everyone at the table turned to stare at her in shock.

"What did you do? Go 'Hulk Smash' on your desk?" Quil asked after a moment.

"She is blowing it way out of proportion in that note. All I did was break off one of the corners. Not that big of a deal, you could fix it was a hot glue gun." Kori defended herself.

"What pissed you off so bad you broke it?" Jared asked, looking down at her slightly from his place between her and Kim.

Kori stared down at her food, poking her mashed potatoes with her fork. "Nothing." she answered simply.

"Do I need to get a fire extinguisher?" Quil asked teasingly. Kori looked up at him in confusion along with the rest of the pack. He glanced around at them before looking back at Kori and pointing at her. "Liar, liar pants on fire!"

The pack laughed and Kori tried to maintain some of her dignity in keeping a straight face, which was surprisingly hard to do.

"Okay, seriously, what happened?" Jake asked when he calmed down enough to talk again.

Kori chewed the inside of her mouth, trying to think of something to say to get them off the subject.

"Mrs. Brown just got on my nerves." she finally answered.

"Dude, that happened in _her _class?!" Quil exclaimed in cheerful surprise.

"That prune hates everyone." Jared added, rolling his eyes before he took another bite of his food. Every student called her a prune because of how wrinkly she was, being close to sixty years old.

The pack chuckled before going back to their own conversations. Kori smiled slightly to herself, eating quietly. She glanced up and caught Paul's eye. He raised one eyebrow, looking at her seriously. She immediately dropped her gaze and looked back at her food.

**XXX**

**Note: If you ask any questions in the reviews and I don't answer it, I'm not ignoring you! I simply don't want to spoil the story. Speaking of reviews, thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing on this story, it means a lot.**


	8. Always causing problems

Chapter 8

Always causing problems

The rest of Tuesday was fairly uneventful. Kori even ate sort of slowly, even though it was faster than she used to, and waited until well after Liz and her clique had left the cafeteria before she went to the bathroom.

She did the same thing on Wednesday, and Mrs. Brown kept the class busy for once in first hour, meaning Liz couldn't really do or say anything. She did the same thing Thursday morning, and Kori was more than happy to enjoy the peace, even if it meant actually working in History class.

When lunch rolled around on Thursday afternoon Kori was sitting between Seth and Kim. The pack was rather quiet as they ate, Kori and Leah at least _trying_ to eat like humans.

A tray plopped down in the empty spot next to Jacob, and everyone looked up to see Embry standing there with a dazed smile on his face.

"You guys will never guess what just happened to me." he sighed happily as he sat down.

"Uuumm…Ms. Conner bent down in front of you?" Quil suggested cheekily from next to Embry. Jacob reached around behind Embry and smacked Quil behind the head.

Kim rolled her eyes while Kori chuckled quietly. Kim smiled across the table at Embry, "What happened?" she asked curiously.

Embry sighed happily again. "I imprinted."

The whole table went completely silent as everyone froze and stared at him. Smiles then appeared on most of their faces as Quil and Jake patted his back and several congratulated him.

"How'd it happen?" Seth asked happily.

"I was in my speech class, we were supposed to be giving a speech on a subject we were assigned. I wasn't really paying attention to any of them. Then, I looked up at the same moment she looked up to give eye contact during her speech and…wow." Embry sighed at the end, slouching in his chair.

"Wow. He's whipped already. So, who's the unlucky lady?" Paul asked with a smirk as he went back to eating.

Embry blushed. "Um…I don't know her name." he admitted quietly.

"Well, what does she look like?" Jared asked.

Embry got a faraway look in his eyes, as if seeing her right in front of him. "She has perfect, straight, black hair that shines in the light. And her eyes are a beautiful hazel. And her skin is perfect, with no blemishes and a beautiful copper tan, and when she smiles she has the cutest little dimples, and-"

"Okay, okay. We asked for what she looked like, not for a sap fest." Paul interrupted, looking like he was going to be sick.

"Besides, that could be anyone." Leah pointed out before going back to eating.

"She'll have to come in here to eat." Jake pointed out, "When you see her point her out." Embry nodded vigorously.

The pack went back to eating, then about five minutes later Embry spoke up.

"There she is!"

Seth, Kori, Kim, and Jared looked over their shoulders to see.

"Yeah, that's not obvious at all." Leah snapped as she continued to eat, not caring about the situation.

"Which one?" Seth asked.

"She's wearing the white capris with the pink blouse and sandals." Embry described as Kori's eyes scanned the students. When her eyes found the outfit he described her eyes changed to horror.

"Dude," Seth spoke after a moment, "you imprinted on Liz? She's in our grade!"

"Liz?" Embry repeated, "Liz." he murmured her name a couple times, as if seeing how it sounded.

Kori turned back around to stare at him in disbelief. "Seriously? Of all the people you could've imprinted on you imprint on _her_?!"

Embry looked from Liz to Kori, his eyes changing from dazed, to confusion, to anger.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he growled.

The anger slipped from Kori's face as she realized what she said. The whole pack was looking at her now, waiting for her to respond.

She swallowed before looking back at her food, eating some of it.

"Well? What was that supposed to mean, Kori?" Embry repeated.

"Nothing. I didn't mean it to come out that way. Sorry." Kori mumbled as she ate.

"Well, clearly you have a problem with her. What did you do to her?" Embry demanded, his body quivering.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Oh for Gods sake, Call! She didn't do anything to your precious imprint."

Embry ignored Leah and continued to glare at Kori.

Kori sighed. "I don't have a problem with her. We've just never seen eye to eye."

"'Course not. You're taller than her." Quil joked, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

"Shut it, Ateara!" Embry snapped without looking away from Kori, making a couple people at the table look at him in shock. Quil bit his lips and looked back down at his food awkwardly. Embry narrowed his eyes at Kori for a moment before looking next to her, at Seth.

"You're in the same grade as them. What do you think of her?" he asked, his voice a little less of a growl then before.

"Um, well," Seth thought for a moment, clearly not expecting the attention to be snapped to him, "I don't really know her that well. She's not the type I normally hang out with. She's one of the more popular girls. She's always hanging out with Beth and Diane. And Jackson and his friends. I know she's been dating Jackson for a while. But like I said I don't know her that well." Seth was rambling slightly, clearly unsure of what he should and shouldn't say.

Embry barely winced when Seth mentioned that Liz was dating Jackson, but gave nothing else away. Then he looked back at Kori.

"Do you not like her because she's popular and you're not?" he growled at Kori.

"Embry!" Kim, Quil, and Jared snapped at him, looks of disbelief on their faces as well as several others at the table. Kori glared down at her food, not letting Embry see her face as she felt tears burn her eyes.

"Okay, guys calm down." Jared interrupted, playing the peacekeeper like he usually did. Everyone fell silent as they continued eating.

Kori could feel Embry's eyes trying to burn a hole in her head as she ate, but she did her best to ignore him. She only glanced up a few times throughout lunch, seeing him glaring at her every time.

When most of her food was gone she sighed. "Well, I'm done and I'm sick of being glared at, so I'll see you guys later." she announced as she stood up. She dumped her food in the trash and placed her tray in the right spot before leaving the cafeteria and going to the bathroom.

When she was washing her hands the bathroom door opened and the three girls Kori really didn't want to see stepped in.

"Hey Kori. It certainly has been a while, hasn't it?" Beth asked in her obnoxious, annoying voice.

Kori quickly dried off her hands as she responded, "Yep, and not that this isn't fun, but I've gotta get to class." she tried to move around them but Diane shoved her back. Kori could've shoved right past her, but she decided to humor them.

Diane looked at her in shock, holding her hands out palms up. "What the hell? You're hot!"

Kori raised one eyebrow as Liz and Beth looked over at their friend with looks of confusion and slight disgust.

"Not like that, you idiots!" she snapped at her friends, "Like, temperature wise."

Liz looked back at Kori. "You better not get me sick. My dad'll sue you."

Kori rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm out of here."

She tried shoving past them again, but this time both Diane and Beth shoved her back, making her back hit the wall. Again, only because she let them. Then, Diane raised her hand and attempted to slap Kori across the face.

Kori's hand shot up and she caught Diane's wrist inches from her face. With her free hand Kori shoved Diane away from her.

Liz stepped up and raised her hand to do the same. As she did Kori's eyes widened in horror as several thoughts ran through her head in a second.

Liz is now an imprint. The number one law of the pack is that an imprint cannot be harmed by a member of the pack. Because of Kori's superior strength if she so much as pushed Liz there would always be the chance of hurting her. Even if on accident, if she hurt Liz Embry would be out for blood. There was no way she could defend herself against Liz without the risk of hurting her.

Her thoughts were abruptly halted by Liz's hand striking her cheek. Before Kori phased a slap like that would leave her cheek stinging, but not now. She barely felt the hit, but Liz did.

Liz's eyes widened and glistened as she screamed a few profanities, clutching her injured hand with her other one.

"What did you do to her?" Beth demanded angrily.

Kori shrugged. "I didn't do anything. She's the one who hit me."

"Shut up!" Liz snapped, cradling her hand to her chest. She glared at Kori for a moment before turning away. "Lets get out of here." she looked over her shoulder quickly, "This isn't over." she threatened before leading her girls out of the bathroom. Kori followed just a little bit behind them. When she reached the door and held it open with one hand she saw that the pack was standing outside the bathroom, too.

Embry was the only one who hadn't seemed to notice Kori yet, staring at Liz instead. Seth moved to stand next to Kori.

"Um, hey uh, Liz." Liz paused and looked back at Embry, Diane and Beth pausing just past her.

"Um, hi. Embry right? From speech class?" Liz answered back, smiling slightly.

"Uh, yeah." Embry glanced down at her hand before looking back up at her face. "Are you okay? What happened to your hand?"

Liz glanced over at Kori slightly before looking back at Embry, rubbing her sore hand with her other one. "Oh, um…I accidentally hit it on the bathroom sink. Not a big deal."

Embry narrowed his eyes slightly. "Oh. Are you sure? I could walk you to the nurse's office if you want."

Liz smiled as a blush spread across her cheeks. "Um, th-that's okay. But thank you anyway. I'll, uh, see you in Speech tomorrow Embry." She waved slightly with her good hand as she followed her friends down the hall.

Kori glanced at Seth for a moment as they left, but when she looked back Embry had stalked up to her and was in her face.

"What did you do to her?!" he snarled as Jared and Paul stepped in to hold him back.

Kori gaped at him. "Seriously?! Why do you immediately jump to blame me?"

"You were in there with her, and she's hurt. I could feel it." he snarled.

"She told you she hit her hand on the sink." Kori pointed out, gesturing down the hall with her hand.

"I could feel she was lying. If you didn't hurt her, what really happened?"

Kori swallowed and tried to think of something to say. The whole pack was now watching her, waiting for her to say something.

"If you so desperately want to know what happened, why don't you ask her. I promise you, Embry, I didn't lay a hand on her." Kori said slowly.

"Why can't you just tell me what happened? What are you trying to hide?" Embry snarled, struggling in Paul and Jared's grip.

"I'm not trying to hide anything!" Kori cried, "If you want to know what really happened so badly, ask her, but I'm telling you I didn't lay a hand on your precious imprint!"

Embry shoved Jared and Paul off and got up in Kori's face.

"Alright enough!" Jake shouted, shoving between them. "Embry, quit throwing accusations left and right. And Kori, quit causing problems, that's all you ever do!"

Kori snapped her head up to stare at Jake, the anger slowly slipping from her face. "What?" she breathed.

"Let's just drop it and get to class." Jake snapped before he shoved past Embry and Kori to walk down the hall, clearly not hearing the pain in his sister's voice.

The rest of the pack slowly started following Jake, but Kori stayed frozen in her spot. Seth stopped just a few feet in front of her, waiting for her to come. One by one, the pack paused and looked back at her, Jacob being last.

Kori stared at him for several moments, her mouth open slightly and her eyes squinted in disbelief as tears threatened to fall.

Then, she ran. She spun on her heal and bolted the other direction down the hall. She ignored the voices calling her name and ran through one of the side doors into the woods. She didn't phase, she wasn't angry and her wolf wasn't fighting to come out, she just ran. She didn't know how far she ran but when she finally stopped she fell to her knees, leaning her side against a tree trunk. She turned and leaned her back against the tree, pulling her knees to her chest.

As if her life wasn't complicated enough, then Embry had to go and imprint on the one person Kori couldn't stand. Now she wouldn't be able to defend herself when Liz attacked her, she'd have to just stand there and take it. And she definitely couldn't tell the pack about everything now. Even though Paul knew about the bullying, she couldn't let him know about Liz. The whole situation could tear the pack apart if any of them found out.

Kori wasn't sure how long she sat there, her forehead rested on her knees, but she didn't care.

Then, she heard voices coming closer and silently hoped it would be some animal or vampire coming to eat her, even though she knew it wasn't. She recognized the scents.

"What makes you think she went this way? I lost her trail."

"I don't know, okay. I just…I feel like she went this way."

"You're weird."

"There she is!"

Kori heard quick footsteps before someone was in front of her, a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Kori? Hey, Kori are you okay?" Seth's voice seemed to calm Kori's nerves instantly as his scent wreathed around her like a security blanket.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, her forehead still on her knees, "You should be in school."

There was a couple seconds of silence before Paul spoke, "You do realize how long you've been out here, right? School's been out for at least fifteen minutes."

Kori lifted her head up and looked between Seth and Paul. Seth's eyes were full of concern and even Paul's eyes softened when he saw her face. She probably had dried tear streaks down her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked gently, lifting his hand to rub her cheek with his thumb.

Kori looked down and shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sam's probably going to kill me for skipping school like that." she looked up, "I'm not too surprised you two are the only ones to come looking for me."

Paul gave her a look. "Quil and Leah had to get to patrol, Jared had to drive Kim to a doctors appointment, and Jake and Embry are just idiots."

"Did you leave because of what Jake said?" Seth asked quietly.

Kori looked down again. "Yeah, but…after thinking about it I realized he's right. I do cause problems everywhere I go."

"That's bull, Kori, and you know it. If you want to name someone who causes problems look at the leech lover. You're nothing like her, so quit saying you cause problems. Jacob was just sick of all the fighting, we all were."

Kori looked down again. "Yeah, and that was my fault."

"Kori!" Paul shouted, making her glance up at him. "Embry was being stupid, the whole pack agrees on that. He was overreacting. That's not your fault."

"But Liz is his imprint. His everything, Paul. Of course he's going to freak out. I should've kept my mouth shut."

The trio was quiet for a few moments before Seth broke the silence. "Out of curiosity, why don't you like Liz? I mean, she's not so bad."

Kori looked down again, knowing Seth could read her like an open book. "She's just…kind of a snob, in my opinion. I just think Embry deserves way better than her."

Another silence fell over them, this time broken by Paul. "Well, don't let Embry hear you say that, we don't need a repeat of lunch, thank you."

Kori rolled her eyes at his light tone, knowing he was teasing her.

"Come on. Let's get to Emily's." Seth suggested, offering his hand after he stood up. Kori took it and was pulled to her feet.

The three walked though the woods, heading towards Emily's. Kori was slightly turned around since she didn't know where she ended up. After about fifteen minutes Emily's house came into view.

Kori groaned slightly. "He's gonna kill me." she whined. Seth grabbed her hand in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

They followed Paul through the back door into the kitchen. Emily was working at the stove, as usual, Sam was leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed, Jake was standing in the corner, and Embry was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Oh great, _they're_ here." Kori whispered so only Seth could hear.

Paul grabbed a brownie off the table and stood to the side. Seth grabbed two and gave the second to Kori, who stayed by his side because she felt stronger next to him.

"Kori," Sam addressed her in a tone that told her she was about to get lectured, "what's this I hear about you skipping school?"

Kori glared at the back of Embry's head, who seemed to be ignoring the situation. She looked back up at Sam.

"And…who told you that?" she asked innocently. Sam narrowed his eyes a tiny bit.

"Don't change the subject, it doesn't matter who told me. You know you're supposed to stay in school. What happened?" Sam asked sternly.

"Well, clearly someone told you what happened, so why do I have to repeat it?" Kori asked back calmly. Seth gave her a warning look, but she ignored it.

"Kori." Sam warned.

"What do you want me to say, Sam?" Kori demanded, forcing herself not to scream at him, "I couldn't handle it today. Is that what you want? For one of your unwanted female wolves to admit they can't handle something your guys can?!"

One hand grabbed her free hand while another rested on her shoulder. Paul and Seth's scents wreathed around her, making her both calm down and feel a little stronger. She barely noticed Jake narrow his eyes at them.

Sam stared at her for several moments, his blank expression unchanging.

"I hear Embry imprinted." he stated calmly, as if she hadn't just accused him of favoritism.

Kori rolled her eyes and found herself glaring in Embry's direction. He glanced at her before looking away and taking a bite of his brownie.

"Can I leave now?" Kori asked stiffly, wanting everything to end.

"No, Kori." Sam answered sternly, "You know what this is about. Now, what's your problem with Embry's imprint?"

Kori bit her lip as she breathed heavily through her nose. Then, she crossed her arms and pointedly looked at her feet, making it clear she wasn't going to talk.

"Kori, don't force me to use the Alpha Command." Sam finally spoke.

Kori's head snapped up to stare at him with wide eyes. "You wouldn't." she whispered nervously.

Sam's expression still didn't change. Everyone else in the room tensed a little. "If this situation is effecting the pack, I need to know. And if you won't talk on your own, I'll have no choice."

The room went silent as everyone turned to look at her, waiting for her response. Even Emily paused from where she was frying something on the stove.

Kori swallowed the bile that had risen to her throat.

"I…I don't have a problem with her, okay?" she answered slowly, keeping her voice steady.

Sam narrowed his eyes slightly again. "That's not what Embry said."

"Sam, Embry overreacted." Paul answered from where he was just behind Kori, "Ask anyone else in the pack and they'll tell you the same."

"What about the way she reacted when I pointed Liz out?" Embry demanded as he stood up to face them.

"It was just an initial reaction. It doesn't mean anything. She was surprised." Seth spoke up.

"Guys, I think Kori can speak for herself." Jake pointed out from where he was still standing in the corner. Kori glared at him from the corner of her eyes. She knew she had to get out of there before she did or said something she'd regret.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry for my reaction to your imprinting, Embry. Congratulations, I'm happy for you! I really am. You guys deserve each other. So, now I'm going to leave."

With that she turned and ran out of the house, hearing several voices shouting her name. She ignored them and ran home as fast as she could.

**XXX**

**DaGirl32: Ooh, you were so close! But, it was Embry who imprinted on her, thankfully not Seth.**

**Hope everyone's enjoying my story so far. Review and let me know what you think!**


	9. Not as bad as it looks

Chapter 9

Not as bad as it looks

Over the next week Kori endured more torture than normal, not only from school but from some members of the pack as well.

At school Liz and her followers didn't bother Kori in the bathroom apart from one incident that ended peacefully because there were others in the bathroom as well. However, Jackson and his friends stepped up their game. Whenever they passed her in the hallways they either knocked her stuff out of her hands or slammed her into the wall or other students. After the first few failed attempts they realized it would take at least two or three of them to even move her, so they traveled in trios at least. Oh, and Embry had started eating with Liz and her friends every couple days.

Pack life wasn't much better. Embry was still angry at her, and tried anything he could to get her to think about Liz when they were both in wolf form, so he could find out why she didn't like her. Their pack brothers and sister all reacted differently to Embry's behavior.

Paul nearly attacked Embry a couple times, because of some of the things he'd say about Kori. Seth, who was normally so calm and cheerful, nearly phased when Embry compared Kori to Bella, saying she was selfish and enjoyed crushing everyone's hearts. Even Leah had told Embry to shut up, which wasn't out of the ordinary, but no one expected her to actually stick up for anyone.

Quil, Jared, and Jacob didn't normally know what to do or say, so they tended to stay out of it. Jared was especially in a tight spot. He had imprinted and knew what Embry was going through, and he didn't know what Kori's reasoning was, but he didn't want to turn on her either. Quil wanted to side with his best friend, but he looked to Kori almost like a sister and didn't want to hurt her, much like Jared. Jacob just tended to stay out of it, but whenever he did decide to step in he tended to tell Kori off when she got mad at Embry.

Sam only ever stepped in when things were getting too out of control. Kori also avoided Sam at all costs to prevent him from deciding on using his Alpha Command to get the truth out of her.

One night, close to midnight, Kori was heading home in human form after her patrol with Paul. Quil and Embry had stepped in to take their place. When she was nearly home a loud warning howl tore through the air, causing her to freeze. That howl only meant one thing. Vampire.

Kori stripped quickly, tying her clothes around her leg, before phasing and racing through the trees in the direction of the howl.

Paul, Quil, and Embry were running along the border the pack shared with the Cullens. Through their thoughts, Kori saw that the redhead seemed to be crossing back and forth between their territory and the Cullens'. Kori ran as fast as she could to get there to help. Finally, she ran up along side Quil, the river separating their territories only a few meters from them. Paul was in the lead, keeping one eye on the trees in the Cullens' territory.

The redhead suddenly burst through the trees, flying through the air to land back in the pack's territory. Kori was about to pick up her pace to lunge, but faltered when she saw another figure leap from the trees.

The largest Cullen, she thought his name was Emmett, followed the redhead onto their territory.

Paul didn't think twice and slammed into the large vampire, knocking him into the river separating territories. Paul snarled at him and paced the bank a bit, his pack brothers and pack sister stopping their chase in case they needed to break up a fight. The leech stood in the river, soaking wet, as he glared up at Paul. Kori suddenly glanced around as she remembered the redhead, but she was long gone.

"_Nice one, Paul, we lost her." _Embry snapped.

"He_ crossed over into our territory!" _Paul snarled, _"I have every right to defend it."_

"_Look, we lost the redhead, and the leech is back in his own territory. Lets just get out of here." _Kori suggested, glancing between Paul and Emmett.

She could tell Embry was fighting his thoughts. He wanted to agree and get on with his patrol, but he didn't want to actually _agree _with Kori.

"Emmett." a voice called from across the river. The wolves glanced up, seeing nearly the whole Cullen clan watching. "Emmett, come on. Lets go home." the male vampire with light blonde hair spoke again, in a gentle yet commanding voice. Kori recognized him as Carlisle.

Emmett snarled at Paul one last time before turning and leaping up the steep river bank to join his coven. Paul continued to glare into the trees well after the vampires had disappeared.

"_Uh, hey Paul…you and Kori can go home now. Embry and I will take over now. You can go home, get some rest." _Quil suggested carefully, keeping an eye on the angry wolf.

Paul snarled one last time before heading into the trees to go home. Kori did the same, heading home for a well-deserved few hours of sleep. If only she didn't have to go to school when she woke up.

XXX

The next day was pretty normal. Jacob gave her the cold shoulder, Embry tried to burn holes in her head with his eyes, Paul and Seth tried to convince her to tell them what her problem with Liz was, the rest of the pack felt uncomfortable around her because of the Embry situation, and Jackson and his friends pushed her around in the halls.

By the time lunch rolled around, Kori was tired just like every other day. She didn't even realize she was actually _leaning_ on Seth's shoulder as she ate.

"You alright?" Seth breathed in her ear.

"Hhm." was all she answered.

She tried fighting it, but by the time lunch was almost over her bladder was screaming for relief, forcing her to go to the place she dreaded most in the school.

And as usual, she wasn't alone.

"Hi Kori." Beth greeted as she, Liz, and Diane all stepped into the bathroom a few minutes after Kori.

Kori sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. 'I can't catch a break, can I?' she thought to herself.

"This payback is long overdue." Liz remarked as she glared at Kori.

Kori rolled her eyes, feigning boredom, but deep down she was actually kind of afraid. She couldn't fight back no matter what Liz and her friends did.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when someone grabbed her head with two hands and slammed it into the corner of the bathroom sink.

Kori stumbled and slouched her side against the bathroom wall, clutching the sink with both hands. Warm, thick liquid was dripping down her forehead, but Kori knew the cut would heal quickly. But in this situation, was that a good thing?

Another set of hands shoved her back, catching her off guard, making her crash back into the wall, her head smacking into the brick surface. It was now throbbing from the two blows.

Someone grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her down, making her fall to the ground. She felt a pointed toe make contact with her side, knocking the air out of her. Then another, and another. She couldn't grab one of the ankles because she didn't know which one was Liz's.

She curled her legs in a little to protect her sides and stomach. Even though it didn't hurt as much as it would if she were human, it still hurt. They were putting all their strength into the blows, making sure to cause lots of damage. And they were.

Then, they kicked her in the face a few times before she could lift her hands to protect her face.

After what felt like forever the bell rang to dismiss everyone to their next class, making the kicking stop.

Kori kept her face pressed to the cool floor to make the burning and stinging stop.

"Take this as your warning." Diane told her calmly before they left.

Kori stayed in the same position for a few moments after they left. Then, she decided she should try and get up, knowing someone could walk in.

It hurt to move, but Kori finally forced herself up, leaning on the wall to stand. She moved over to the sink to look in the mirror.

Blood was still dribbling down her face from the already-healed gash on her forehead. Some was even smeared around her cheeks and forehead, probably from hiding her face in her hands, which were also covered in blood. Her lip was cut and bruised, she had bruising around one eye and across the bridge of her nose. She even had some blood on the collar of her shirt.

Kori felt a wave of nausea wash over her, but pushed it down as she grabbed a paper towel, got it wet, and washed some of the blood from her face. She tossed out the paper towel and peaked out the bathroom door.

The hallway was empty so she slipped out and walked carefully down the hallway. She paused for a moment as she realized she didn't know where to go.

She couldn't go to class all bruised and bloody, obviously, especially if she was going to heal soon. She couldn't go to the nurse's office because of her quick healing. She needed to go somewhere to clean up quick.

Could she go home? No. Her dad would be home. Emily's? No, Sam and Emily would be there.

As she thought all this, Kori ended up outside in front of the school. She looked around and saw the bench just to the side of the bottom of the front steps. She sat down as she tried to think of somewhere she could go to clean herself up.

"Kori?"

Kori froze, almost forgetting to breathe.

"Kori." the same voice repeated her name, almost cautiously, as if he didn't know why she wasn't responding.

Kori took a deep breath before she slowly, nervously turned around to face him.

Paul's mouth opened in shock as his eyes widened at seeing her face. He hurried down the steps and stopped beside the bench, looking down at her.

"What happened?" he growled, a shiver running up his spine.

Kori looked down. "It's nothing, okay? It's not as bad as it looks."

"'Not as bad'?' Paul repeated in disbelief, "You're a freaking werewolf! It takes a lot to do this kind of damage to one of us. If you were human you'd be in the ER, or worse."

Kori scoffed quietly, still looking at the ground. "Exaggerate much?"

"No, I'm not." Paul answered simply before sitting down next to her. He took hold of her chin in his hand, turning it a couple times to get a good look at everything. Then he let her go and, to Kori's surprise, ripped off one of his T-shirt sleeves.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he dug around in his backpack. He pulled out a plastic water bottle. He opened it, placed the cloth against the opening, and tipped the bottle a couple times to get the sleeve wet. He glanced over Kori's face quickly before he started wiping the damp sleeve across her face.

"You have some blood on your face." he answered quietly.

They sat quietly for a few moments.

"So, am I going to get a name?" he asked stiffly. Kori sighed through her nose.

"It's not important." she murmured. He looked into her eyes as he pulled back.

"What about our deal?" he asked knowingly.

Kori tried playing dumb. "Deal?" she repeated in confusion.

Paul glared at her. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Kor. Either you tell the pack or I will."

"That's only if it gets worse." Kori argued.

Paul looked at her like she was crazy. "And _that's_ not worse?" he spoke as he pointed at her face. "Did you even _try _to fight back?"

Kori swallowed as she looked at the ground. "I…I didn't want to end up hurting anyone. I can take it, but I would've probably hurt them much worst if I'd fought back." That wasn't a total lie. She didn't want to hurt Liz, because Embry would've killed her. And she would've hurt them if she'd fought back.

Paul looked at her funny. "Someone beat you to the point you'd be in the hospital if you were human, and you don't want to defend yourself because you don't want to hurt them?" he repeated, "You're weird."

Kori shrugged, not really caring if she was considered weird or not.

"So, why are you sitting out here?" Paul asked as he tossed his sleeve into his backpack.

"Couldn't think of somewhere to go. I mean, I couldn't stay in school because of my fast healing. I couldn't go home because my dad's home, and I couldn't go to Emily's because, obviously, Emily and Sam would be there. And I really don't feel like being lectured for skipping again." Kori answered quickly.

"Well, it's a little late for that." Paul answered lightly, leaning back on the bench. "Embry's going to make sure Sam finds out about you skipping."

"What are you doing out here?" Kori asked suddenly, the thought just occurring to her.

Paul put his arms behind his head in a relaxed posture. "Seth was flipping out, something about thinking you were hurt or something, and the only way to calm him down was for me to say I'd look for you." Paul furrowed his brows as he thought for a moment. "That kid's weird. And he was right, too. About you being hurt." he added, looking thoughtfully over at Kori.

Kori furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully as she looked at the ground. That kind of reminded her of the night before Harry's funeral. She'd felt like Seth was hurting, and he was. They'd always been close, but this felt different.

"So…are you just going to sit out here until school gets out?" Paul asked curiously.

Kori shrugged. "I can't think of anything else to do. I can't go back in there." she pointed out, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at the school.

Paul nodded calmly before thinking a moment. "You hungry?" he asked suddenly.

Kori looked at him, taken off guard by his question. "Um…well, yeah. I'm always hungry." she pointed out.

Paul smirked at her. "There's a diner a few blocks down, makes the best chocolate shakes this side of Washington. Up for it?"

Kori narrowed her eyes at him. "You're going to skip school with me? You realize Sam will kill both of us."

Paul snorted. "You think I haven't skipped before? Man, you are naive. And Sam's been itching to yell at you for a while, might as well yell at both of us."

Kori smiled. "Okay. On one condition. No talk of school, anything supernatural, or stupid brothers."

Paul chuckled as he stood up. "Deal."

Kori got up after him and followed him to his truck.

XXX

A few hours later Kori was in Paul's passenger seat, the delicious taste of chocolate malt still in her mouth. She'd drank two while Paul drank five. The waitress looked at him weird, after shamelessly trying to flirt with him, which Kori found hilarious when he turned her down. Apparently she was 'too old for him'.

When they pulled up to Sam's house, Kori's happy feeling dissolved. Jake's Rabbit, as well as Quil, Embry, Jared, and Leah's cars were all parked out front. Wonderful, an audience for when Sam murders her.

Kori got out and followed slowly behind Paul. When they entered the kitchen through the back door everything went silent as everyone stopped and stared at them.

"Kori!" Seth shouted, racing forward to hug her. Kori was surprised for a moment before returning the hug. Her eyes closed and a small smile spread across her face, ignoring all the eyes trained on her. It felt good being in Seth's arms for some reason. She felt safe, like that's where she belonged. But that's silly… right? After a few seconds Seth pulled back, hands still on her arms.

"What happened? Where were you? Are you okay?" he rambled worriedly.

Kori smiled slightly, finding it adorable. "Seth I'm fine." luckily there wasn't any sign of her confrontation with Liz since everything had healed completely. "Paul just gave me a ride here."

Jake narrowed his eyes from where he was leaning against the wall across the kitchen. "So where were you all day?" he asked tensely.

Kori opened her mouth, trying to think of something to say, but Paul beat her to it. "We were at school, just like the rest of you."

"You're car wasn't in the parking lot after school." Leah answered from the far corner.

Paul shrugged casually, leaning his back against the wall with his hands in his jean pockets. "We got outside a few minutes earlier than everyone else, so we figured we'd beat the rush."

"And yet you're late." Quil pointed out from where he was sitting at the kitchen table next to Kim. That's when Kori noticed something.

"Hey, where's Jared and Sam?" she asked. She could tell by how faded their scents were they'd been here recently but weren't at the moment.

"Dealing with the newbies." Leah answered as she ate an apple.

"What newbies?" Kori asked as she felt Paul stiffen behind her.

"Oh, that's right." Jake spoke sarcastically, "You two weren't there after school in the parking lot when Emily called saying that Collin Littlesea and Brady Fuller phased earlier this afternoon. I forgot."

Kori stared at him in shock before turning to Seth. He was looking at her sadly, giving her a brief, nervous smile.

"Collin Littlesea?" Kori repeated, looking around the room. "As in my baby cousin? You're joking, right? He's only thirteen!"

"Tell me about it." Quil agreed. "But, they're both taking it rather well. I think it's cause they have each other. Jared's with them while Sam's patrolling. I'm switching with Jared in a few hours. Now quit trying to change the subject. If you guys left school before us why did we still manage to beat you guys here?"

"And why do you smell like chocolate?" Seth asked curiously, looking over Kori's face from where he stood beside her.

"After school we went to this diner and got some shakes before coming here. Is that a crime?" Kori asked, trying to make her voice sound as believable as possible. She glanced around the room. Everyone, even Kim and Emily, were looking at her and Paul dubiously.

"Why are you bleeding?!" Seth's panicked voice nearly gave Kori a heart attack. Her head whipped around to stare at him in shock. He was staring at her neck and chest area. Kori looked down and grabbed the collar of her T-shirt. Sure enough there were spots of dried blood staining the fabric.

"Seth, relax." Kori looked back up at him, letting go of her shirt, "I'm not bleeding. It's dry."

Seth dragged his eyes from the blood up to her eyes. The dark chocolate brown was swirling with concern and doubt.

"That blood wasn't there at lunch." he stated seriously. Kori's breath caught in her throat. She didn't know what to feel because of that statement. Afraid because of how serious Seth felt about it, or embarrassed because he noticed the blood wasn't there before lunch.

She didn't realize everyone was waiting for her response, so she just stood there with her mouth open until Paul stepped in.

"She ran into the door at the diner and got a bloody nose." he answered. Quil smirked, and Emily and Kim turned away to hide their own smiles.

"Nice one, Kor. Did that one move, too?" Quil asked teasingly. Kori blushed as she remembered what he was talking about.

Four days ago she'd been in wolf form running through the forest. She didn't have anywhere to be, she just wanted to burn some extra energy. Then Embry phased in to switch places with Quil, who was on patrol. Like all the other imprinted wolves, Embry's thoughts were filled with his imprint. Kori had to force her thoughts to anything to keep herself from thinking about Liz at that moment. Because she was so distracted she ended up running headlong into a tree. When Quil and Embry wanted to know how she managed that one, her first thought was that the tree moved. Quil hadn't been able to let her live it down ever since.

"Shut up." Kori grumbled as her face got warm. She glanced at Seth from the corner of her eye. He was still watching her only he had a doubtful expression, one Kori knew too well. He didn't believe her. He knew that she didn't get a bloody nose from that, but he wasn't going to voice his doubts in front of everyone.

But what Kori wondered was how long she'd be able to keep the truth from him.


	10. Imprinting

Chapter 10

Imprinting

The next day the whole pack got out of school. Sam figured with the redhead still being around and two new members of the pack it would be better to have the whole pack around in case of an emergency. Collin and Brady still hadn't phased back yet, but Sam suspected it would take at least a couple days before that happened. So, he was keeping at least one other pack member in wolf form to stay with the pups and to keep an eye on things.

Kori had just phased back to human form after Seth switched places with her on pup-watch. She walked back to Emily's and entered the kitchen, finding Emily at the stove with Jared, Embry, Quil, and Paul sitting at the table. As Kori sat down between Paul and Quil Emily set a plate of chicken legs on the table.

Everyone shot out a hand to grab one, their hungry wolf sides making an appearance. Kori ate hers almost as fast as her pack brothers; the key word being _almost_.

As she finished her third one the familiar sound of a motorcycle entered her hearing range. She knew it was Jacob. He'd gone to Forks High earlier that morning to 'warn the Cullens about coming on our land'. Yeah, the whole pack knew that's a load of bull! He was really going to make sure Bella was still human. Apparently she went on some trip with her leech and Jacob was afraid he was going to change her like she wanted.

Kori stared at the tabletop, planning to ignore Jake when he came inside.

Quil glanced over his shoulder, out the window. "Dude, he brought Bella! Come on!"

The four boys hurried toward the door. Paul paused as he stood up.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked, his chicken still in his hand.

"I thought you didn't like Bella." Kori pointed out, tilting her head.

"I don't, but I like making fun of Baby Alpha." he answered with a smirk.

Kori smirked back and shook her head. "I'm good. Go have your fun." she joked.

Paul followed the others, leaving Kori alone in the kitchen with Emily.

Kori thought for a moment, remembering something she thought the evening before, while on patrol with Jared.

Jared had been thinking about Kim, like usual. Now, Kori didn't mind having to listen to that kind of stuff, unlike Paul, as long as the imprinter's thoughts stayed relatively PG. Jared had actually been thinking about when he imprinted on Kim. Kori heard all his thoughts, felt all his emotions, and saw everything through Jared's eyes.

It felt oddly familiar. And it made her remember other things she'd experienced in her pack brothers' minds. It made her think of…Seth.

Kori glanced at Emily's back, wondering if she could talk to her. After all, Emily was the first imprint. If Kori could ask anyone, Emily would be her best option…right?

"Um…hey Emily?" Kori called hesitantly.

Emily quickly glanced over her shoulder as she stirred the stew she was making. "Yeah?"

"Can…Can I ask you a question?" Kori asked hesitantly.

"Sure. What about?"

"Imprinting."

Emily looked over her shoulder again, her face showing she was a little surprised.

"Sure. What do you want to know?" she asked as she turned down the burner and moved to start kneading the dough she made for rolls.

"Um…What did it feel like to you? Like, when Sam imprinted on you, at that moment, what did you feel?" Kori asked, playing with her hands nervously.

Emily looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully as she continued kneading the dough. "Well…I've never been asked that before. Um…That moment when Sam looked into my eyes…I felt drawn to him. I couldn't look away no matter what. And whenever he wasn't around, it kind of felt like…a part of me was missing, even though I fought the imprint as hard as I could. I could still feel it though, even though I didn't want to." Emily looked over her shoulder again at Kori. "Did that answer your question?"

Kori thoughtfully nodded her head, looking off into space. That sounded a little like what she felt with Seth that day they first saw each other during their training bout. Except the feelings the other wolves experienced were closer to what she felt.

"Can I ask another question?" Kori asked quietly, looking down at the table as she felt her face heat up.

"Of course." Emily answered immediately, "Ask as many questions as you want."

Kori bit her lip for a moment. "Would the imprint bond, like, feel different if you already knew the person? Like, say a wolf imprinted on someone they already cared deeply about, someone they were close to. Would that affect how the bond felt?"

Emily paused in her kneading, looking ahead at the wall. She turned slightly, looking into space thoughtfully. "I think I get what your saying. I'm not sure, honestly. I mean, I knew Sam before he imprinted, because of Leah. And Jared knew Kim because they had a few classes together. But I've never heard of a wolf imprinting on someone they were close to." Emily's gaze moved up to Kori's face. "Why do you ask? Do you think you imprinted?" she asked the second question eagerly.

Kori looked back at the table and shrugged. "Just curious. What with everyone talking about imprinting all the time, and being inside the guys' heads, I just wondered."

Emily nodded before turning back to her bread dough.

Kori's head whipped around when Leah suddenly stormed through the kitchen and out the back door. Kori and Emily glanced at each other before Kori decided to join the pack outside to see if something interesting was going on.

As Kori walked outside she heard Jake introduce Bella and Leah.

"Hey. I'm really sorry about your father." Bella said awkwardly.

Kori walked down the steps, waiting to see what Leah was going to say.

"If you're here to torture Jacob some more, feel free to leave." Leah responded as she turned and walked away, towards the trees.

The rest of the pack watched awkwardly while Kori tried not to smile. 'Thank you, Leah!'

"Fun isn't she?" Jake asked sarcastically. Kori glared at him, but he didn't notice.

"Bella!" Emily called happily as she came out of the house, Sam trailing behind her, "I was wondering when we'd see your face around here again." she joked as she pulled Bella into a hug.

"Yeah, same here." Bella answered awkwardly as they pulled away. Sam came up and put an arm around Emily's shoulder.

"Sam, we good?" Jake asked carefully.

"We're good." Sam answered as Emily snuggled closer to him. "She won't be breaking through our defenses anytime soon." Kori rolled her eyes. They were talking about Victoria, that's all they ever talked about.

"Hey Kori." Bella greeted quietly, smiling a little. Kori waved a little, not quite wanting to talk to her. "You look really different."

Kori forced a smile. "Yup. I phased, and you tend to look different afterwards." she joked dryly.

Bella's eyes widened before she looked up at Jacob, standing next to her. "Why didn't you tell me Kori phased?"

Jake shrugged. "Well, she phased a few days after…you left. You weren't around, and after that it never came up."

Bella nodded awkwardly before looking back at Kori. 'Oh joy, guess we're still talking,' Kori thought.

"So, what's it like being in the pack?" Bella asked in a friendly tone.

Kori crossed her arms and shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. But unfortunately it means I have to be inside their heads a lot."

Paul came around and threw one arm around her shoulder. "Aw, come on, Kor! You know you love us." he teased with a smirk. She knew he was trying to get her to lighten up.

Kori rolled her eyes with a smile of her own. "Yeah, if only you guys could control your thoughts once in a while." she joked back.

"At least we're not afraid of showing each other our thoughts. We trust each other, unlike certain people." Embry countered bitterly, throwing a glare in Kori's direction.

Kori's smile dropped as she looked back at him. Every time she was in a good mood and actually having fun with the pack Embry had to step in and ruin it.

She pulled out of Paul's grip and turned her back on the pack.

"I'm out of here." she said in a dull tone as she headed toward the tree line. She picked up her pace the farther she got.

"Coward!" Embry shouted angrily, making Kori break into a run, bursting into a wolf when she passed the trees.

She raced through the trees as fast as she could. She had a place in mind to stop, far away from pack eyes and noses.

When she neared the border with the Cullens she slowed down and phased back, digging a pair of running shorts, a sports bra, and a T-shirt out of a bush. She pulled them on and sat against the tree nearest to the border.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the trunk, calming her heartbeat down.

The rustling of a nearby bush made her sniff the air, keeping her eyes closed. The visitor sat next to her, leaning against the tree trunk with her.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Leah asked, making Kori open her eyes.

"Just thinking, really." she answered quietly.

"So you came here?" Leah asked, not letting any emotion slip into her voice, even though Kori could tell she was surprised.

Kori shrugged. "No one in the pack comes here unless patrolling, and no one's patrolling today."

"Doesn't it burn your nose?" Leah asked, scrunching up her own nose.

"It does," Kori answered simply, nodding her head a little, "but at least I'm getting some peace. Away from all the pack drama, which I coincidentally am the center of."

Leah nodded slowly. A comfortable silence fell over the two she-wolves for a few minutes.

"I hate you."

Kori snapped her head around to stare at Leah in shock, definitely not expecting that, and not knowing what to think of what she just said.

Leah didn't look up, but spoke again. "That's the last thing I said to my dad before…before I killed him." she whispered, her eyes actually glistening.

Kori felt her blood go cold as she watched a single tear fall down Leah's cheek. Leah never showed weakness, and she definitely didn't cry.

"Lee, you didn't kill him." Kori said quietly, "Harry always had a weak heart, you know that. It's not your fault."

Leah scoffed as she wiped the tear off her cheek. "It is, though. If I hadn't been fighting with him, he would still be here. Instead, he's gone. And now I'm stuck being a freak-of-nature, tagalong ex-girlfriend that nobody wants."

Kori glared at her lightly. "That's a load of bull, Leah. We all do stuff that we end up beating ourselves up for later. So you got in a fight with your dad, that doesn't make it your fault he died. If your phasing hadn't caused his heart attack, I'm sure something would've happened eventually to cause it. Just like," Kori swallowed the lump in her throat before forcing herself to continue, "Just like my mother's death."

Leah looked over at her with slightly wide eyes. None of the Blacks ever talked about Sarah's death.

Kori looked away and looked at the ground. "That day I really wanted some ice cream. I begged and begged my mom for some, but we didn't have any. Jake, Quil, and Embry ate all of it the last time they all hung out at our place. I wouldn't take no for an answer, I was only seven years old. So, my mom drove to the store to get some. It started raining while she was out. Then, an officer came to our house and said…that she was gone. Deep down, I still think it's my fault. If she hadn't gone out to get ice cream for me, she'd still be here."

Leah stared at her, watching her face as Kori stared down at the ground. Then, she took a deep breath and looked up at Leah.

"But, that's in the past. I know my mom wouldn't want me to spend my life blaming myself for that, and I know Harry wouldn't want you to do that either. And if you want, we can be unwanted freaks of nature together." Kori added lightly with a small smile.

Leah smiled back, the sight making Kori's smile grow a little. Leah hadn't really smiled since her dad died.

"Thanks." Leah whispered. She glanced at the ground before looking back up at Kori. "I know it's none of my business, but are you ever going to tell the pack what your problem with Liz is?"

Kori looked away, trying to fight the flash of annoyance at that question. She went to the border to get away from everyone.

"I'm not trying to go all Embry on your ass, I'm just asking if we'll ever know the truth." Leah reasoned.

Kori looked over at her. "Not if I can help it." she admitted quietly.

"What are you going to do if Sam goes through with his threat and uses the Alpha Command on you?" Leah asked curiously.

Kori bit her lip and looked away, not sure how her pack sister would take her answer. "I…I'll probably leave the pack."

"What?!" Leah nearly shouted in shock, making Kori flinch and close her eyes. "What do you mean 'leave the pack'? Is that even possible?"

"Well, I'm a direct descendant of Ephraim Black, right? Therefore I'm a rightful alpha just like Jacob. So, if I wanted to, I could theoretically break away from Sam's pack and become my own alpha." she glanced at Leah, who was looking at her with wide eyes. "I just figured, it would make things easier on everyone. I mean, some pack members feel torn because they don't know if they should side with me or Embry. And I don't want that. I don't want the pack divided. I don't want anyone to side with me. So, I just thought, if it comes to that, I'll leave and make things easier for everyone." Kori ranted, trying to defend her reasoning.

Leah was silent for a while. "If you leave, I'm going with you." she stated simply, "I'm not going to be left as the only girl in the pack again."

Kori thought for a moment. It would be nice to have company should that happen, and she did just get finished promising they'd be 'unwanted freaks of nature together'. She couldn't just abandon Leah like that.

Kori sighed. "Okay. _If _it does come to that, I guess I'll need a beta." she smirked at Leah, who only nodded back.

"Good."

**XXX**

**On a side note, I'm working on a short story revolving around Kori. It's a Mother's Day theme that I thought of last Mother's Day that I've been working on slowly. I'm just wondering how many people would actually read it if I posted it on here after it's done. **

**Also, what do you think of this chapter! Lots to take in!**

**Review and let me know please!**


	11. OUR pack brother

Chapter 11

OUR pack brother

Kori was woken up by something landing on her face. She opened her eyes to see light shining through red fabric. She lifted her hand and clutched the fabric, pulling it off her face as she propped herself up on one elbow, still lying on her stomach like she'd been while asleep. It was one of her red T-shirts.

She looked across her bedroom, seeing Seth searching through a pile of her clothes, tossing some of them behind him as he looked.

"Seth, what are you doing?" she groaned, dropping back so half of her face was buried in her pillow.

Seth looked over his shoulder at her. "Oh good, you're up. Come on, we gotta get going." he said, moving to her dresser to start looking through her top drawer, he knew the bottom one was off limits because that was her underwear drawer.

"Go where?" Kori asked, still exhausted from her patrol.

"Tonight's the bonfire. We've got to get going so we're not late."

Kori rolled over, pulling her pillow over her face. She mumbled into her pillow. "I'm not going. I'm too tired."

Suddenly the pillow was gone. She looked up. Seth was back to looking through her clothes pile on the floor, her pillow now on the floor across the room.

"Too bad," he answered over his shoulder, "it's our first council meeting. You've got to be there."

"What are you even looking for?" Kori asked, rolling onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow as she watched him.

"One of your sweatshirts. Even though we're wolves, you still might get cold. Hurry up. If we don't get going the others will probably eat all the food!"

Kori rolled her eyes. "Seth." he ignored her, continuing to look through her clothes. "Seth Clearwater." he looked over at her. She reached under her bed and pulled out one of her hoodies.

Seth blinked. "Why do you keep it under there?" he asked.

Kori shrugged. "I feel like it. Let's get going." she got out of bed and they hurried outside.

It had been a little over a week since Jake brought Bella around to Emily's place. Embry rarely ate with the pack at school anymore, usually eating with Liz, Diane, and Beth. A couple good things came from that. 1. Kori could eat without being glared at. And 2. Liz and her friends never got the chance to follow her into the bathroom.

Collin and Brady also phased back to human for the first time the day after Bella came to Emily's, however they weren't going back to school until the coming Monday. They also weren't allowed to go to the bonfire yet, they had to wait until the next one just to be safe. Sam didn't want to risk any slightly unstable wolves around the elders and imprints. Oh, and _Bella_. Kori wasn't too happy that Bella was coming. For crying out loud, she's an outsider and not even an imprint! She had no right to be there!

Kori pulled her sweatshirt on over her T-shirt, slipped on her tennis shoes, and hurried after Seth. They decided to walk to the beach, where the bonfire was.

When they neared the beach parking lot they saw Emily and Sam getting food out of the back of Sam's car.

"Hey Em. Need some help?" Kori asked as they stopped beside the car.

"That'd be great, thanks!" Emily smiled in relief. "Paul keeps offering to help, but I know I'd end up with half the food gone if I let him."

Seth and Kori laughed as Emily handed the last two boxes they had to her.

Seth eyed the two boxes. One was about the same width as Kori's shoulders, the one on top was a bit smaller.

"Here, I'll carry them." Seth offered, attempting to take them from her.

Kori held them away and glared lightly at him. "I can handle it, Seth. I'm not some wimpy little girl, you know."

Seth looked like he was going to argue, but instead snatched the boxes from her, only to take the smaller one on top and hand it back to her.

"There. You carry that one while I carry this one." he reasoned with a smile as he turned and lead the way to the beach.

Kori stood and watched him for a moment, slightly in shock of what just happened. She shook her head, a small smile coming on her face before she followed him.

After they placed the boxes on the table they sat on a log, Kori between Seth and Paul, who was keeping a hungry eye on the food. The next log over sat Embry, Leah, and Sue, who had taken over on the council after Harry passed away. Billy was sat in his wheelchair next to that log. The log on his other side seated Old Quil and Quil, his grandson. The next log over sat Jared and Kim with Emily on Sam's lap.

"Paul!" Emily suddenly snapped, making everyone look over.

Paul was leaned back on the log, reaching towards the food table.

"What?" he asked, like he hadn't just been caught trying to take food.

"Aw, come on, Em." Jared whined, "We're all hungry. Can we eat now?"

"No. Jake and Bella haven't come yet." Emily answered.

"But the food's getting cold, and the bugs will get it if we don't eat it soon." Kori pointed out, forcing her voice to sound like a whine. A couple members of the pack actually whimpered when she mentioned the bugs getting _their_ food.

Emily grimaced for a moment as everyone watched her before she sighed. "Alright fine. As long as you save some for Jake and Bella!" she shouted the last part because several guys had jumped up to get the food. Sam kissed her cheek before helping her up and leading her over to the table.

After everyone finished eating they started just quietly talking among themselves, waiting for Jake and Bella to get there. Seth had to keep smacking Paul whenever he reached for more food.

"Jake!" Seth shouted happily, getting up and tugging Kori with him. Kori stuffed her hands in her sweatshirt pockets and followed him more slowly to the duo that had just arrived.

"It's about time you got here. Paul's been hogging the grub, but I saved you some burgers." Seth told him when they were standing face to face, Kori a little behind him.

"Good looking out, bro." Jake answered. He glanced at Bella. "Bella, this is Seth Clearwater, Leah's brother. One of the newest members of the pack." Seth shook Bella's hand.

"Newest, bestest, brightest-"

"And slowest." Jake interrupted Seth as he put him in a headlock. Kori and Bella laughed quietly as they watched the exchange. A loud whistle brought the tussle to an end. Seth pulled away.

"Come on. Your dad's about to start." he said as he hurried back to his seat, Kori following quickly after him. Jake and Bella sat together on the only empty log.

As Kori listened to her father tell the histories she didn't realize she'd scooted closer to Seth as he started talking about the first Cold One the tribe had encountered. When he got to the part where the Third Wife sacrificed herself Kori shivered. That part always got to her. Seth wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, probably thinking she was cold.

XXX

By the time the histories were over Seth noticed that Kori had fallen asleep, leaning on his shoulder. Bella, Emily, and Kim had fallen asleep, too. Seth pulled Kori closer to him with the arm that was around her to make sure she didn't fall. He looked around, seeing Billy talking with his mom and Old Quil.

"Hey Billy." Seth called, not wanting to be too loud in fear of waking Kori up. Billy paused his conversation and looked over. "I'm going to take Kori home, okay?"

Billy nodded with a small smile. "Okay, thank you Seth."

Seth nodded back before picking Kori up, careful not to wake her up. He carried her home bridal style, probably looking weird to anyone who saw him along the way, but it was pretty late.

When he made it to the Black's house he walked inside and to her bedroom, closing the door quietly with his foot. He placed her on the bed, but didn't pull the covers around her, knowing she'd be warm enough with the sweatshirt.

Seth looked down at her, watching her sleep for a few moments. Her short hair was sprawled out over her pillow beneath her head, a few strands flopping over her cheek and mouth. Her mouth was open slightly as she breathed. Her sweatshirt was still kind of baggy on her because Billy accidentally ordered the wrong size a few years back. It used to reach her knees when she wore it, now it actually fit her nearly perfectly, but it hid her figure and curves. Her arms were curled into her chest, one hand was barely peaking out of her sleeve, only showing her fingers as they rested on her pillow.

Seth bit his lip for a moment before he slid into the bed next to her, falling asleep almost instantly to the comforting sounds of her breathing and her calm heartbeat.

XXX

A few days later Kori was at Emily's after school, sitting on her living room floor, helping Emily's two year old niece color in an _Ice Age _coloring book. She was watching the two girls while Emily was cooking in the kitchen with Kim. Most of the pack was out either on patrol or doing something in their free time.

"What color would be good for this picture, Claire?" Kori asked happily as she pointed to a picture of Manny the mammoth. Claire looked at the picture before crawling over to her crayons.

"Pink!" she screeched as she grabbed a hot pink crayon and crawled back to the book. She used that color a lot, the crayon was nearly down to a stub.

Claire's four year old sister Sophie was watching Dora on the TV, shouting out occasionally whenever Dora asked a question.

The two girls were staying with Emily for the week while Emily's brother and his wife went on a week long trip for their anniversary.

The sound of laughter and deep voices told Kori that the pack was on its way back to Emily's. She briefly sniffed the air. Sam, Jared, Quil, Seth, and Embry. Kori immediately smiled when she recognized Seth's scent above the others.

The front door burst open as the pack members barreled in. Sam and Jared went into the kitchen to see their imprints while Quil and Embry sat on the couch. Seth sat on the floor, watching as Sophie watched Dora.

"So…who are they?" Quil asked curiously, pointing at the two little girls as Claire climbed to her feet.

"Dude, we talked about them while on patrol." Embry looked at him like he was stupid, which might be close to the truth.

"Oh yeah. Emily's nieces." Quil stated as he remembered.

Claire walked up to Quil with her pink Manny picture.

"I's colored dis! You have!" she said in her innocent toddler voice as she held the picture out to him.

Quil took it before looking at her face. He froze as he made eye contact with the little girl. Kori saw several emotions pass through his eyes. Confusion, joy, love, adoration. Kori's eyes widened.

"Did he just…?" Seth trailed off as Kori glanced at him.

"Oh man." Embry groaned as Claire broke the trance and climbed into Quil's lap, who instinctively helped lift her.

"Hey Emily. You may wanna come in here." Seth called, still watching as Claire took Quil's hand in her much smaller hands, watching Dora on the TV like nothing was different for her.

"What is it?" Emily asked as she paused just inside the doorway, Sam right behind her. She glanced at Seth, noticing that everyone was staring at the couch. When Emily followed their eyes she blinked before her eyes widened.

"No." she murmured, staring at Quil, who was watching Claire with a gentle, happy smile. "He didn't. Quil Ateara, you better not have done what I think you did." she nearly shouted, making Quil look in her direction, as if just noticing she was there. When he saw her panic flashed through his eyes. He stuttered, not knowing what to say.

Jared and Kim appeared in the doorway behind Emily and Sam, peaking over them to see what was happening.

Emily stormed forward, snatching Claire off Quil's lap and stepping back away from him. Claire started crying and screeching, reaching out for Quil. Kori couldn't help feeling a twinge of pity. Claire, even though she's merely two years old, felt the imprint pull. She just wanted to be with Quil.

Quil stood up the moment Claire was taken from him, stepping a couple steps away from the angry Emily. His pained and panicked eyes kept flashing between his screaming imprint and an angry Emily. He wanted to sooth his imprint, but he didn't dare cross an angry Emily.

Kori stood up, Seth standing just behind her.

"Um, hey Em? Can I say something?" Kori asked cautiously.

Emily's angry eyes flashed in her direction. "This doesn't concern you, Kori." her eyes flashed back to Quil, "She's just a little girl! She can't be dragged into this kind of life!"

Kori cleared her throat. "Okay, I'm just gonna talk. If I remember correctly, you once told me that Sam was the best thing to ever happen to you." Emily's eyes softened ever so slightly as she looked at Kori. "Is that true?" Kori urged, wanting to hear Emily say it out loud. Emily sighed before nodding firmly. Sam smiled slightly from behind her.

"And if I remember correctly from what Sam told me, a wolf will be anything their imprint needs. They don't need to be in any kind of a romantic relationship. All Quil cares about is Claire's happiness and wellbeing, right?"

Quil nodded vigorously, his eyes still switching from Emily to Claire.

"I don't know about you, Em, but if Claire was my niece, I would want that for her. Quil will always be there for her, to make her happy, to help her, to protect her. Wouldn't you want that for her?"

Emily bit her lip, but Kori could see her resolve slipping. Everyone in the room; Quil, Embry, Seth, Kori, Sam, Jared, and Kim; were all watching her, waiting to see what she would decide.

Finally, Emily sighed. She held Claire out towards Quil. A huge smile spread across Quil's face as he took his imprint in his arms. Claire stopped crying as she pressed her face to Quil's chest, curling her whole body into him. Both wolf and imprint seemed to sigh in content at the same time.

Quil sat back on the couch next to Embry with Claire on his lap. Emily and Sam went back into the kitchen. Kori watched Quil with a smile on her face before she felt eyes on her. She glanced toward the kitchen doorway to find Jared watching her. His face was gentle and his eyes were warm. Kori glanced around her before walking over to him.

"What?" she asked quietly.

Jared smiled, but it almost seemed sad. "Why'd you say all that? Why'd you even get involved when Emily was that pissed?"

Kori looked at the ground and thought for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know. I guess…I mean, it's true right? Everything I said?" she glanced up at Jared, who nodded in answer. "I guess I just…I didn't want Quil or Claire to suffer. I mean, being away from your imprint causes physical pain for both the wolf and the imprint. I didn't want either of them to be in pain. And, I know Quil would do anything for Claire, she'll never get hurt thanks to Quil. She deserves that."

Jared nodded thoughtfully for a moment before looking down at her and smiling.

"Thanks."

Kori furrowed her eyebrows at him. "For what?"

Jared smiled again. "For sticking up for my pack brother." he was about to turn back into the kitchen when he paused and looked back at her, "_**Our**_ pack brother."

Kori looked at the ground as he walked into the kitchen, leaving her to think about what he said. For some reason, a warm feeling spread through her at his word choice. Our pack brother. It was a strange feeling she'd never really felt before. Like…acceptance.

Loud footsteps made her looked over her shoulder, just in time to see Embry storm out of the front door, slamming it behind him.

Kori met Quil's eyes. He grimaced and shrugged before turning his attention back to Claire.

Kori sighed and headed toward the front door.

"You need any help?" Seth asked gently.

Kori shook her head with a small smile before leaving the house.

Embry was sitting on the front porch steps. Kori took a deep breath before sitting on the steps next to him.

They were quiet for a few moments before Kori decided to talk.

"Why do I get the feeling your mad at me for defending Quil?" she asked seriously, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

Embry sighed harshly. He was quiet for a few moments, making Kori think about asking again. But he finally answered. "I'm not. I really am grateful you stuck up for him. I just don't get it."

"Get what?"

Embry looked over at her, his brown eyes burning with anger. "Why are you okay with his imprint and not mine?! He imprinted on a two year old. That nearly makes him a supernatural pedophile. I imprinted on a girl barely two years younger than me, someone in your grade. Why do you have a problem with my imprint, but then you're defending his?"

Kori swallowed and looked away. "I came out here because I wanted to make sure you were okay, not to talk about this." she said as she stood up and walked down the steps. A large, warm hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving. Kori gritted her teeth, feeling her eyes burn with unshed tears as she looked back at Embry. She hated that she was hurting him, but he'd be even more hurt if he knew the truth. His eyes bore into her, angry, but also pleading. Kori had to look away, or she'd give in.

"Embry, I'm sorry. I really am, but I just can't tell you." she finally said, her voice thick with emotion and cracking as she tried not to cry. She jerked her hand out of his grip and ran home as fast as she could.


	12. Phone calls at five in the morning

Chapter 12

Phone calls at five in the morning

About a week after Quil's imprinting Kori was just lying in her bed, listening to one of her favorite songs on her Ipod. It was about 1 in the morning, but she couldn't sleep. She had this weird clenching feeling in her chest that made it almost hurt to breathe. So, she was listening to a couple of her favorite songs to try and make herself tired.

Then, she felt this change in her chest. Like a pull or something, but it was making the clenching lessen. A breeze hit her face, bringing a familiar scent with it that made the feeling go away completely. Kori's eyes snapped opened and she sat up, looking toward her window.

Seth was standing there leaning against the wall, smiling at her. She pulled her ear buds out to hear what he was saying.

"I've been throwing rocks at your window for a good three minutes, you know that?" he teased.

"Sorry. I guess I didn't hear, I've been listening to some music."

"What are you even doing up this late?" Seth asked, all teasing gone from his voice, "You should be asleep."

Kori shrugged, scooting over in her bed out of habit so Seth could slide in beside her, which he did. "I couldn't sleep, I'm not sure why." okay, that wasn't the whole truth. She had an idea why she couldn't sleep, but she still wasn't positive if she was right. She didn't know for certain if Seth and her imprinted on each other or not. And she didn't want to sound like an idiot if she was wrong.

Seth nodded thoughtfully before glancing down at Kori's ear buds, which were still playing music.

"What are you listening to?" he asked curiously.

Kori looked down at her ear buds. "Well, when you came in I was listening to Donny Osmond, _No One has to be Alone_. I was trying to get myself to fall asleep."

"I'm not sure if I know that song. Can I hear it?" Seth asked with his usual 'Seth smile', making Kori blush for some reason. She nodded before starting the song over and giving him one of the ear buds. She put the other one in her own ear cause she wanted to listen to it again, too.

They laid in silence against Kori's pillow as they listened to the song. When it was over she turned it off and snuggled down into her blanket, absentmindedly cuddling closer to Seth.

"You know…that's a good song." Seth murmured, making Kori look up at him. He looked down at her, looking deep into her eyes. "There really is so much that surrounds us, stuff we don't even know about. Everything's a gift. And…no one has to be alone, or feel like no one's by their side. No matter what, there's always going to be someone there for you." the determined look in his eyes made Kori look away. She had a feeling he was talking directly to her, not just about the song.

Kori cleared her throat. "Um, I think I can get to sleep now. We should go to sleep, we've got school tomorrow." she said as she rolled over, facing away from her best friend.

"Okay, just…Kori?" Kori glanced over her shoulder, showing that she was listening but not looking right at him. "Just remember what I said, please? I'll always be there for you. You can trust me with anything."

Kori bit her lip as she felt her eyes burn. "I know, Seth." she whispered, knowing he'd hear her.

They fell asleep quickly, letting a comfortable darkness fall over them.

XXX

Kori was woken by an annoying sound. She peaked her eyes open. It was still dark out, though it's always dark in rainy La Push. She peaked over Seth's shoulder to see her cell phone lit up and ringing. She sat up and practically crawled over Seth in her haste to get her phone, earning a groan of protest from him.

"What?!" she nearly shouted into the device. She glanced at her alarm clock and saw that it wasn't even 5 in the morning yet.

"Kori, you need to be at Emily's at 8 for a pack meeting." Sam's voice ordered through the phone.

"At 8?" she repeated, getting off Seth to sit back on the bed. "Oh, well than…why are you calling me at 5 in the morning?!" she almost shouted again.

A heavy sigh came through the earpiece from Sam's end. "It wasn't my idea to call everyone this early, trust me I'd like to be asleep right now, too. Jacob wanted to make sure every member of the pack got the message to be at Emily's at 8."

"And you couldn't have called around, what, 6:30 or 7?" Kori asked in exasperation. Seth groaned again and pulled the pillow over his head.

"Look, I know it sucks and all, but Jake really does have something important to tell the pack. Oh, and before I forget to tell you, you guys don't have to go to school tomorrow. I'm not sure how long the meeting will take, so, you're welcome."

Kori smiled. "Really? No school?" she repeated happily.

Sam chuckled on the other line. "I had a feeling that would make you happy. Anyway, tell Seth for me, will you?"

Kori glanced at Seth. "How'd you know he was here?"

"I think the whole pack knows you two tend to sleep at each other's house. So when Seth didn't answer his phone, I figured he was with you."

Kori blushed knowing the whole pack knew. "Oh, okay. I'll tell him. See you at 8 Sam. Oh, and Sam?" Kori paused, making sure he didn't hang up yet. "Tell my moron brother I'm gonna kill him when I get there."

Sam chuckled on the phone. "Oh, don't worry, he knows."

With that Sam hung up. Kori hung up and crawled over Seth again to place her phone on the bedside table before slipping back under the sheets.

"So, what happened now?" Seth grumbled with his face still under the pillow.

Kori pulled the pillow off him so she could lay her head back on it.

"Sam called to say we have a pack meeting at Emily's at 8, and we have no school."

Seth smirked sleepily at her, his eyes half opened. "Okay. Goodnight."

Kori smiled as she watched him fall back asleep. After a few moments, she did the same.

XXX

The next morning Seth and Kori hurried to Emily's. Kori hurried to beat him there only because she knew he'd stop her from killing Jacob.

She burst through the kitchen door, nearly taking it off its hinges. Jared, Leah, Paul, Brady and Collin were in the kitchen with Emily.

"Where is he? He is so dead." Kori snarled.

Paul and Jared smirked at her while Emily looked confused.

"If you're looking for Jake, he's in the living room with Sam, Quil, and Embry." Jared answered with a smirk, nodding his head toward the doorway separating the kitchen and living room.

"Thank you." Kori said pleasantly before turning to head toward the living room. A strong, warm arm slid around her waist, effectively holding her there.

"Jared, don't encourage her." Seth said from just beside Kori's ear.

Paul laughed. "Aw, come on Seth! I want to see this!" he nudged Jared with his elbow. "My money's on Kori."

Jared snorted. "Only because Jake would never hurt his little sister, moron. Besides, he whooped your butt too many times to count."

Paul snarled while everyone else laughed.

Then, Sam's voice called from the living room, "If everyone's here, we may as well get this started."

All the senior pack members sighed, while Brady and Collin hurried to beat them to the living room. They were just excited because this was technically their first pack meeting.

'Enjoy the excitement while it lasts, pups.' Kori couldn't help thinking to herself.

When they entered Jake was standing just behind Sam, who was standing front and center, Embry was sitting in the recliner with Quil sitting on the arm. The rest of the pack filed in, filling up the couches. Jared, Brady and Collin took one while Paul, Seth, and Kori took the other. Kori tried convincing Leah to sit on the couch instead of her, but Leah just stayed standing in the corner by herself. So, Kori sat next to Seth on the couch.

"Alright, what's so important that we had to be woken up at 5 this morning?" Kori asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Sam gave her a look before turning back to the rest of the pack.

"Well, it's not my announcement. Jake." Sam turned to Jake, who stepped forward as Sam stepped to the side.

"Well, most of you probably know that Quil, Embry, and I went to Bella's graduation party last night." Jake started, earning a few groans from certain members of the pack. Kori rolled her eyes, she almost forgot that's where he went. Then again, he didn't normally talk to her about that stuff.

"Right, I can see where this is going, can I leave now?" Paul asked, standing up from his spot on the couch.

"Sit." Sam ordered. Paul groaned but sat down anyway.

"Guys, this is serious," Jake stressed, "While we were there the pixie leech had a vision. About the redhead."

The pack members immediately perked up, paying close attention now.

"Okay, well, everyone knows how she's been after Bella all this time, right?" the pack nodded, "And everyone knows about all those disappearances in Seattle the past month right?" everyone glanced at each other, not expecting that question. But they nodded nonetheless. "Well, apparently the redhead is behind all those disappearances. She's been finding people and changing them so she could create a newborn army so she can lead them to Forks to kill Bella."

"What do you mean 'newborn army'?" Collin asked, no doubt voicing the same question most of the pack had.

"A newborn vampire is a recently changed leech." Jake explained shortly.

Sam stepped forward. "In a couple days we'll be meeting up with the Cullens in a clearing at the border for some training."

"Training?" Paul snorted, "Dude, we're built to fight leeches. What kind of training can they give us that we don't already know?"

"Newborn leeches are different from other leeches. They're stronger, faster, and they have basically no control over their thirst for blood. However, they are easier to kill, if you know how." Jake explained.

Kori raised her hand.

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes slightly. "Yes, Kori?"

"Just out of curiosity…Why do we have to get involved?" she asked calmly, "I mean, you said this is happening in Forks, so it's not threatening the tribe, and Bella has the whole Cullen clan on her side. Why do they need us to protect her?"

Jacob's growl echoed loudly throughout the house, his body starting to blur.

"Our job is to protect humans, and that includes Bella." he snarled.

"I'm with Kori on this one." Paul spoke up. "She's got an entire coven of vampires to protect her, and it's her fault she's in this mess in the first place. Why should we have to help?"

Jake was about to snap something, but Sam put a hand on his shoulder, turning to face the pack.

"I know many of you don't want to be part of this, but there is more to this than I think you realize. This army will have nearly a hundred vampires, who have no control over their thirst for blood. The Cullens can't handle that by themselves. Worst case scenario; the army destroys the Cullens, kills Bella, moves on to the whole of Forks, and then to an extent, La Push. All of the people we love will be in danger. Our imprints," he glanced over at Embry, Quil, and Jared, "parents," he glanced over Seth, Kori, and Leah, "siblings. Everyone we care about. So, if you're not going to do this for Bella, do it for them."

Kori looked at her lap as everyone glanced among themselves. Finally, most of the pack nodded or voiced their agreement. Only Kori remained silent.

"Kori?" Sam urged, still waiting on her answer.

Kori looked up and glanced around. Everyone was watching her, mostly with curious gazes, but Jake was full on staring at her, looking ready to burst with the intensity of his stare. A warm hand rested on her thigh, sending a wave of warmth through her body. She glanced at Seth to see him smiling encouragingly at her.

Kori sighed before looking back at the front at Sam, completely ignoring Jacob.

"I'm not doing this for Bella, she can get sucked dry for all I care. I'm doing this for my dad. And the imprints. I'm in."

Jake glared at her while the rest of the pack voiced their agreement and a couple patted her back, but Kori couldn't care less. She simply answered truthfully.

**XXX**

**Okay, I know the beginning was a little corny, but I simply couldn't resist. I highly recommend listening to **_**No One Has to be Alone **_**by Donny Osmond. It's an amazing and touching song, and it sort of inspired this storyline.**

**Please review and let me know what you think so far!**


	13. Training gone wrong

Chapter 13

Training gone wrong

It was going on 1 o'clock in the afternoon when the pack left Emily's after their lunch to meet up with the Cullens at the border. It had been a couple days since the pack meeting where they all discovered Victoria's plan, and Sam had decided to allow the pack the rest of the week off from school.

Kori secretly expected Embry to be mad because he wouldn't be able to see Liz. Wrong! Apparently they texted almost on a regular basis and sometimes hung out off school grounds, which Kori suspected Jackson didn't know about, but she didn't know for sure.

The whole pack, even the pups, headed into the trees to strip and phase. As usual, Kori focused her thoughts on her surroundings, just to be safe. A small shoulder bumped into hers, making her jerk to the side and bump into Seth on her other side. She looked over to see Collin smile a playful wolfy grin at her before loping ahead. Collin was now the smallest in the pack, barely a couple inches shorter than Brady, who was only a couple inches shorter than Kori.

Kori yipped playfully as she bounded after her cousin, nipping at his ear as they bounced playfully around each other. She missed playing with her cousin. They hadn't spoke much the past couple years, but it was nice to be able to play and goof off with him like this. It was a chance to rebuild their relationship.

Collin jumped up and pushed her shoulder with his front paws, making her stumble and crash into a furry wall. A loud growl made Kori scurry back towards Collin as she looked back at an angry Jacob.

"_Will you two grow up?"_ he growled at them, _"This is serious."_

Kori and Collin glanced at each other as they let Jake go on ahead of them.

"_Um, how long has he been like _that_?"_ Collin thought quietly, looking over at Kori as they walked.

Kori snorted. _"Awhile."_ thoughts accidentally flashed through Kori's mind before she could stop them. Jake hanging out with Bella in the garage before he phased, Kori crying in her room, and Jake yelling at her.

The whole pack stopped walking and looked at her in surprise, Jake looking over his shoulder at her.

Kori ducked her head before racing ahead of everyone, too ashamed she let that slip to face any of them.

She ran to the border, following the sickly sweet scent she'd grown used to. It was stronger up ahead, signaling that's where the Cullens were waiting.

She broke through the trees way before the rest of her pack, making the Cullens look at her. She stepped over to the side and sat down. She noticed Edward looking at her. He glanced into the trees before looking back at her, sympathy in his golden eyes.

Kori's lips lifted involuntarily in a snarl. _"I don't need your sympathy, leech"_ she thought. Edward nodded before looking back down at Bella, who was wrapped in his arms.

Soon, the rest of the pack came out of the trees, a couple glancing at her as they came, but she simply looked away from them. Jake looked at her, sadness and regret in his dark brown eyes, but when he noticed Bella it's like his sister didn't exist. Kori had to force her thoughts from that, knowing she'd make it worse for herself.

She felt calmness wash over her when soft, warm fur brushed against her, Seth's familiar scent wreathing around her. The two friends sat side by side as the training session began. Kori noticed that Jacob went to stand by Bella, who leaned against his flank.

After the blonde bloodsucker, Kori thought his name was Jasper, went over certain battle strategies and techniques, he suggested some of the pack practice against members of the Cullen clan.

First Sam fought against Jasper, then Jared went against Carlisle. After that Sam glanced among the pack, trying to decide who he'd put against Emmett.

"_Kori."_ he thought, nodding toward the center of the clearing.

Kori blinked in mild surprise before she stood up.

"_Wait."_ Seth stood up with her, _"You're seriously putting Kori up against Emmett? He's the strongest of them all! Why don't you put Paul against him?"_

"_Every member of the pack needs to be prepared. Paul's had experience fighting and killing leeches, Kori hasn't."_

"_Then why-"_

"_Seth I'll be fine."_ Kori interrupted him, bumping her nose to Seth's to calm him down. She could tell other members of the pack didn't like her being pitted against Emmett, especially Paul, Jared, Leah, and Collin. The rest of the pack didn't seem to mind. She didn't either, it was only practice, right? So what was the big deal?

Kori stepped into the clearing to face Emmett. He looked a little bit surprised, probably not expecting one of the smallest wolves to be pitted against him.

"Ready when you are." Emmett told her with a smirk.

Kori grunted in her throat, shifting her feet as she waited. Emmett lunged at her, getting his arms around her shoulders. Kori twisted her head around, snapping at him in an attempt get him off her like she'd seen her pack brothers do. She managed to latch onto his shoulder and pull him off, tossing him across the clearing. He flew through the air, sliding across the damp forest floor on his feet before rushing forward again. Kori braced herself, planning on knocking him to the ground with her paws.

He took her by surprise by swerving around her, knocking into her shoulder. Kori let out a surprised yelp as she crashed onto her side.

A loud, feral roar echoed through the trees, making Kori think of a lion. Shockingly, the roar sounded familiar. Kori lifted her head off the forest floor before scrambling to her feet at what she saw.

Seth had lunged at Emmett, looking ready to kill him. Sam and Jared leapt forward knocking Seth to the ground to stop him while the other Cullens leapt forward to stand between the wolves and their brother.

"_Seth stop! It was an accident! Kori's fine!" _Sam was yelling, trying to get through to Seth, but the young wolf continued to struggle under his Alpha's weight.

Kori bounded over to the pack and stood in front of Seth's face from where he was still being pinned beneath Jared and Sam.

"_Seth, I'm fine! Look at me! I'm not hurt!"_ Kori shouted, ducking down to look in Seth's eyes. Seth's eyes changed when he focused on her. They were an animalistic yellow color with tiny pupils, but then his pupils grew and his eyes darkened to their normal chocolate brown. He visibly relaxed and Jared and Sam hesitantly stepped away from him.

Seth stood slowly, but Kori noticed he was glancing over her, as if making sure she was really okay.

"_Seth, why don't you go phase back and cool off for a bit? You can come back after you relax." _Sam suggested, trying not to order him. The whole pack could tell he was mad.

Seth nodded with his head down before trotting in the direction of the pack's territory. Kori watched him leave, feeling extremely worried.

She glanced over at Sam, who was trying to explain what happened to the Cullens through Edward.

"_Hey Sam?"_ Kori called hesitantly. Sam paused and looked over his shoulder at her, still not too happy. _"Can I go check on Seth?" _Sam sighed through his nose, making it sound more like a snort, before he nodded.

Kori spun around and bounded into the trees after Seth. When she wasn't visible to anyone she phased back and pulled her clothes on. She followed her nose and the now-familiar tug in her chest to where Seth was. She found him sitting on an old log between two trees.

She walked around the log and sat next to him, pulling her feet up to rest them on a small branch a few inches off the ground. They were quiet for a few minutes, Kori was just waiting for Seth to talk first, knowing he probably needed to get anything that happened off his chest.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. Kori wouldn't have heard it if it weren't for her werewolf hearing.

"What happened Seth?" Kori asked in concern, looking over at him.

Seth closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I just…When I heard you yelp I thought you were hurt and…it's like I felt your pain when you crashed into the ground and…I don't now what happened. It's like all rational thought just flew out of my mind and my wolf took over. I just wanted to kill anyone and anything that hurt you. I can't really explain it." Seth sighed again, opening his eyes to look at the ground, "Sam's probably pissed at me. I nearly destroyed the treaty."

Kori rested a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, calm down. Sam was explaining everything to them when I left. They seemed to understand. It was just a misunderstanding. Everything will be fine."

Seth furrowed his brows and looked at the ground. "It's weird though. I've felt stuff like that before. I…I can't really explain it."

"Try. Maybe I can help you understand." Kori urged, giving him a reassuring smile when he looked at her.

"Well,…like at my dad's funeral, you remember when I started shaking? And then you rested your hand on my shoulder?" Kori nodded, "Well, I was still sad and all, but it's like…feeling you that close just calmed my wolf down. My wolf felt at ease, even if I was upset about my dad and all."

"That's why you kept my hand there." Kori smiled, remembering how Seth had held her hand on his shoulder. Seth blushed and nodded.

"Yeah. And then…the day Embry imprinted on Liz, when you ran off into the woods and Paul and I went to look for you? We lost your trail, but…it's like there was this tug in my chest, pulling me in a certain direction, and I just knew it was you. And that's how we found you. And then again the day Brady and Collin phased? When I was still finishing lunch I felt all these weird pains. First, I felt some pain on my forehead, then the back of my head, like it was slammed into something. Then, I felt like my ribs were cracking on one side, then like my face was being smashed in or something. And somewhere deep down in my gut…I knew it was you." Seth looked over, looking Kori dead in the eye. Kori had to look away, or he'd see the truth.

Kori swallowed, trying to wet her dry throat. "You know, you're not the only one who's been feeling like that." she whispered. "The night before Harry's funeral, I felt this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach and my chest. You know after you cry a lot, it's sometimes hard to breathe? Well, that's what it kind of felt like. And I just knew something was wrong with you. I was about to leave and go to your place, but then you started throwing rocks at my window." Kori smiled gently over at Seth, who smiled back.

"Then, the couple times I was looking for you at the funeral, I felt this tug in my chest. And when I followed it, it always lead me straight to you. That's happened several other times since then, too. Then," Kori blushed slightly and looked away, "when we got back to school this girl was talking about how hot you looked, and talked about how she was going to invite you over and study…_anatomy_." Kori glanced at Seth in time to see him grimace in disgust, making her feel surprisingly happy, "When she said that I kind of…got this weird, almost possessive feeling and…that's when I broke the corner off my desk." she finished sheepishly, ducking her head in embarrassment.

She could hear Seth chuckle and ducked her head more. "Let me get this straight…_you_ were possessive over _me_." Seth repeated. Kori hid her face behind her hair and nodded slowly, expecting him to laugh at her again. He didn't. Instead, she felt his arm slip around her waist and pull her closer to him, snuggling her into his side. That reminded her of something else.

"I've also noticed that…whenever I'm upset or scared or something…it's like being near you just calms me down, sometimes even turns my mood around completely." she whispered.

"I've noticed that, too, you know, just the other way around." Seth murmured, smiling cheekily down at her.

Kori bit her lip, wondering if she should voice her thoughts on this out loud.

As if reading her mind, Seth began to talk. "Do you think…I mean, well, it's kind of like what I've seen from the guys' minds and…well I was just wondering if it's possible…" Seth trailed off, as if afraid to voice the same thought as Kori.

"We imprinted." she whispered, staring straight ahead, afraid to look up at him.

Seth let out a long breath, as if he'd been holding it. "Yeah, I think we did."

"Our first day of training?" she continued, still not looking up at him. She remembered their first day of training with Jake and Leah, when Seth had pinned her and they looked into each other's eyes for the first time since phasing.

"Probably." Seth answered, tightening his grip on her waist.

"So…what now?" she whispered, finally looking up at him. He looked at the ground for a moment before looking at her.

"What do you want?" he whispered, warmth and love as well as nervousness swimming in his beautiful brown eyes.

Kori rolled her eyes at him. "Now, don't start with the 'whatever the imprint wants' crap. _I_ imprinted on _you_ too, you know."

Seth smirked at her and chuckled. "Alright, alright. Relax, Kor. I just want to know what you want, then I'll tell you what I want."

Kori thought for a moment. "Well…we always insisted we'd never, you know, get romantically involved. And…I don't want it to seem like the imprint is forcing us into anything. I want us to be together, but because we want to, not because of the imprint." she looked up at him, biting her bottom lip as she waited for him to respond.

Seth look down as he thought, making Kori wonder if she hurt him. He nodded. "That's probably a good idea. We should be together by choice, and not because of some supernatural wolf thing."

Kori looked up at him in concern. "Are you sure that's what _you _want?"

Seth smiled warmly down at her. "Yeah. Don't worry about it Kor. I don't want us to move too fast. You're right. We should at least wait a little bit." he answered, pressing a kiss to her forehead afterwards.

Kori smiled at him. "Okay. We should probably head back now that you seem calm again." she added teasingly, making Seth blush.

They split up, stripped, and phased before they met back up and headed back to the border. As they approached the clearing the rest of the pack turned to look at them. Jasper was fighting against Rosalie and Jake was still standing with Bella.

"_Ha! I knew it! Pay up Ateara!"_ Jared thought gleefully as they got closer.

"_What are you talking about?"_ Kori asked Jared while Quil groaned.

"_We placed a bet on whether or not you two imprinted. Jared thought you did, but I didn't think so because Seth was just as obsessed over you before you phased."_ Quil answered, making Seth look away. He'd be blushing if he was in human form.

"_Wait, you guys knew we imprinted and didn't think to tell us?"_ Kori questioned.

"_Well, we didn't know for sure. It was more of a guess."_ Jared explained.

"_So, you love birds finally going to get together?"_ Paul asked teasingly.

"_Um, we're gonna wait a while before we move to that."_ Seth answered awkwardly.

"_Why? You two already sleep together." _Paul teased, earning a growl from Seth.

"_Paul! Shut up!"_ Kori snapped, knowing she'd be bright red if she were in human form.

"_I'm just saying."_ Paul answered, _"But I'd understand if you wanted someone with a little more muscle. And manhood. We've all seen Seth's."_ images of when Seth phased to human for the first time flashed and Kori looked away and tried to block the thoughts from getting into her own mind. That was_ way_ too much information right there!

"_Paul! Leave her alone!"_ Seth snarled. Paul just laughed, making Seth angrier. Before Kori could calm him down he launched himself onto Paul, taking the large wolf by surprise.

"_Seth! Seth stop! He was just joking!"_ Kori tried to get through to Seth, but nothing was registering.

The Cullens had stopped their training to watch. Rosalie looked annoyed.

"What is the problem with these wolves?" she asked her coven.

"_Seth! Paul! STOP!"_ Sam's Alpha Command hit the whole pack like a wave, breaking the two wolves apart. _"What is going on with you?"_

"_He was making fun of Kori."_ Seth answered angrily. Sam looked into Seth's thoughts and looked at him in shock.

"_You imprinted on Kori?"_ he asked in shock before looking into Kori's thoughts as well. _"You _both_ imprinted on each other?"_ he asked in complete shock.

Seth ignored him, still snarling at Paul. _"If you ever do or say something like that to her again I'll-"_

"_Seth, enough!"_ Sam snarled, making Seth and Paul crouch in submission. _"I want all three of you to phase back and walk back to Emily's now."_

The whole pack, except Jake who was still with Bella, exchanged confused glances.

Finally, Leah thought the question everyone wanted to ask, _"What do you mean _three_? Kori didn't do anything."_

"_I never said she did. I just want her to go with to make sure Seth and Paul stay out of trouble." _Sam answered, but Kori could tell that wasn't the real reason he was sending her with them.

Kori sighed before trotting into the trees of their territory so she could phase back, pull on her clothes, and start walking back to Emily's.

Before too long she was joined by two large, hot figures. The trio walked in silence for a few moments.

"Look, Seth, I get that you wanted to protect Kor, but you guys know I was just teasing, right? I didn't mean any of that seriously. And I would never hurt you, Kori. You know that."

Kori glanced up at Paul. He was looking down at her, his normally angry face full of concern and apology.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not mad at you." she answered, looking down at the ground as she walked.

"I don't get why Sam sent you back with us." Seth put in, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jean cutoffs. "I mean, you didn't do anything wrong. It was me and Paul, you had nothing to do with it."

"Isn't it obvious?" Kori asked rhetorically. The boys on either side of her looked down at her in confusion. "It's all my fault. Like Jake said a few weeks back, all I do is cause problems. Today just proved that. Seth attacked Emmett because he thought I was hurt, and he attacked you, Paul, because you were teasing me. Therefore, it's all my fault." she ended in a whisper.

"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!" Paul snarled. "It wasn't your fault."

"Whatever." Kori cut Paul off before he could continue. "I'll see you guys at Em's." with that Kori took off at a sprint into the trees in the direction of Emily's house, with Seth and Paul following more slowly.

When the two guys walked through Emily's back door into the kitchen, Seth was surprised and worried to find he couldn't smell Kori in the house.

Emily looked at the two wolves in shock. "You're back already?" she glanced at the door. "Where's everyone else?"

"Just us." Paul answered as he sat at the table and grabbed a roll to eat. "We got sent home early to be put in timeout." he added sarcastically.

Emily looked at Seth in shock. "I can understand you, Paul, being sent back for being in trouble, but what did you do, Seth?"

"Gee, thanks Em." Paul smirked, but Emily ignored him and watched Seth, who was still sniffing the air a little, trying to find his imprint. Wow, it's going to take some time to get used to saying that.

"Oh, um, I uh…may have both attacked one of the Cullens and Paul. Where's Kori?" Seth answered and asked all in one breath. Emily looked at him in shock.

"You attacked a Cullen _and_ Paul! Seth, I'm shocked at you!"

"They both hurt Kori." Seth defended himself, hunching his shoulders as he leaned his elbows on the table. "Speaking of Kori, did she come in here?"

Emily looked confused. "No. Don't tell me she got in trouble, too!"

Seth growled, looking down at the tabletop. "She didn't do anything wrong, but Sam sent her back with us anyway."

"Speaking of her, why don't you tell Em what you discovered today, Sethy." Paul teased as he started on a second bun.

Seth looked down as his face burned bright red. "I, um, well. Kori and I both imprinted." he answered quickly.

Emily actually dropped the wooden spoon in her hand, making Paul laugh.

"Wait, both of you? On who? When? How'd it happen?" she rambled excitedly.

Seth laughed quietly at her enthusiasm. "Um, we imprinted…on each other. A while back, but it took us a while to figure it out."

Emily's mouth fell open before she closed it and seemed to think for a moment. "That…explains quite a bit, actually." Seth cocked his head, wondering what she meant, "Well, awhile ago she asked me about imprinting, if the bond felt different if you already cared about the person before you imprinted. I wondered why she'd be asking, but it sounds like she's been putting the pieces together for some time now."

Seth smiled, liking that Kori was actually figuring it out before. He'd done the same, asking Sam and Jared about it once in a while.

After about half an hour the familiar sound of laughing and goofing off directed Seth and Paul's attention out the kitchen door, spotting the pack pushing each other as they came up the porch steps. Jared entered first.

"Sam's out back. He wants to talk to the three of you." Jared spoke sympathetically. Seth and Paul nodded before getting up and slipping out the door past their brothers.

When they approached Sam, who was standing in the center of the yard with his arms crossed over his bare chest, he narrowed his eyes at them.

"Where's Kori?" he demanded.

Seth opened his mouth to say he didn't know, but was interrupted by a voice that instantly calmed his nerves.

"I'm right here." they looked over to see Kori stand up from where she was sitting against a tree. She headed toward them, now wearing a hoodie that she wasn't wearing before, with her hands stuffed in the pockets. She stopped right next to Seth, their elbows brushing.

Sam's eyes scanned over the three pack members before him.

"I assume you three know why you're here." he started, pausing his gaze on Seth, "You not only attacked a Cullen, risking breaking the treaty, but you also fought each other, making the whole pack look bad in front of them."

Seth sighed. "Look, Sam, I'm sorry I did that, but you know what it's like, the need to protect your imprint. And while we're on that subject, why'd you send Kori back with us? What exactly did she do?"

Before Sam could answer Kori spoke. "I already told you guys. It's-"

"Don't you dare say it's your fault!" Paul snapped, glaring around Seth at her.

"Fine!" Kori snapped back at him before looking up at Sam. "Sam, why did you send me back, if it wasn't my fault?"

Seth and Paul looked back at their Alpha, waiting for his answer. Sam sighed. "Kori, I promise you I didn't send you back because it was your fault. It wasn't. I should've figured out you two imprinted a long time ago. It makes perfect sense and I should've seen it long ago, but I didn't. If I had, I wouldn't have put you against Emmett, because I would've known Seth would react that way."

"You didn't answer the question." Kori simply pointed out, ignoring the whole Emmett speech. "Why did you send me back?"

Sam was quiet for a while, looking at the space between Seth and Kori's heads, looking like he was trying to think or something. Kori snorted.

"Knew it. You know it's my fault as well as I do. Just admit it, Jacob's right. All I do is cause problems, and everyone would be better off if I left the pack. None of you wanted me in the pack to begin with."

Everyone's head snapped to stare at her when she mentioned leaving the pack.

Seth looked agonized. "Wha…what do you mean leave the pack? Is that even possible?" he demanded, looking up at Sam.

Sam was gazing down at Kori and she forced herself to meet his gaze, forcing all the anger and hatred she had into her eyes to drown out all her other emotions so she wouldn't give anything away.

Sam narrowed his eyes after a while. "Since Kori's descended from Ephraim Black like Jacob, she's another rightful Alpha like him. If she chose to, she technically could take over the pack. Or as she said, she could break off from the pack or start her own. However, Kori, I get the feeling you wanting out of the pack has nothing to do with any of the reasoning you just mentioned."

Kori looked at the ground, gritting her teeth.

Sam tilted his head to try and look at her face. "I know you've got secrets. I've phased enough to recognize when someone's trying to hide specific thoughts from the pack, and you do that frequently. I can tell it's about more than just Embry's imprint, too. And Jake doesn't seem to know what's going on with you, either. It almost seems like your whole life is a huge secret, even from your own pack and family. And don't think I haven't noticed how you've been avoiding me since I threatened to use my Alpha Command to get the truth out of you. If you ask me, you being immature and a coward."

Kori looked up at him in disbelief, her mouth open a little.

"You're threatening to leave the pack simply because you don't want the pack to know the truth about you. It's almost like a temper tantrum. You're running away from your problems instead of facing them. If you told the pack, we could help you instead of letting you deal with it alone. We're family. Just tell us the truth, Kori."

Kori was quiet as she looked down. She looked over at Seth. He took hold of her hand and smiled encouragingly at her, his eyes full of concern and hope. She looked past him at Paul.

Paul had a knowing expression on his face, silently telling her to tell the whole truth. Even though he knew about the bullying, he still didn't know about Liz being one of the bullies. Nearly everyday when they were alone, he would ask her how her day had been, his way of asking if she'd had any problems that day with the bullies. He didn't normally push her to tell him about Liz anymore, but once in a while he'd remind her that she could talk to him, and that he'd beat up anyone if she needed him to. She looked to him as a big brother figure now more than Jacob.

Kori looked away from them to stare at the ground. She couldn't tell them the truth. Especially about Liz. Embry was a great guy, who had really crappy luck. He spent his whole life not knowing who his father was, and sometimes kids would tease him about not really being Quileute. Then, when he phased he found out his father was either Billy Black, Quil Ateara IV, or Joshua Uley. That meant one of his best friends could be his half brother!

Embry deserved to be happy for once. If he knew the truth about Liz it would kill him. To know that his soul mate, his other half, was physically and emotionally torturing his pack sister, his best friend's little sister who he'd grown up with…Kori couldn't put him through that. Sure, keeping the truth from him was hurting him, and driving a steak between the two of them, but it was better this way. Him hating her was ten times better than him suffering. She'd take that any day, no matter what it cost her. If it meant she had to leave so he could be happy, she'd do it. Embry deserved that much.

Kori sighed and shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry. I just…can't." she whispered, looking away from them and pulling her hand out of Seth's, instantly missing the warmth.

Sam sighed heavily. "Fine. Just keep in mind that I'll have to get involved if it causes problems for the rest of the pack. Were you being serious about leaving the pack?"

It almost seemed like the whole forest went silent as they waited for her answer.

"Not yet. If I keep causing problems, I will, just because I don't want you to have to put up with me. You have enough to deal with as Alpha without having to deal with my problems."

Sam sighed again, sounding tired and drained. "If that's what you want, just remember you're never alone in this pack. You can talk to any of us. Now, back to you two." Sam turned to Paul and Seth, who cringed a little, "Extra patrols for the rest of this week as well as next week. Got it?" Paul and Seth both groaned but nodded anyway. "Good. Now, lets get something to eat."

Sam lead the way back to the house with Paul, Kori, and Seth trailing behind him. Kori noticed Jake waiting just past the doorway inside the kitchen and decided to just ignore him. When she passed him, however, she heard a loud thump and a surprised yelp, making her look over her shoulder.

Jake had Seth pinned against the wall.

"I can't believe you imprinted on my little sister! Absolutely not! That's not happening! I want you to stay away from her, understand? If I ever see you near her again I'll kill you, Seth!"

"Jake! Let him go!" Kori shouted, running back to grab onto his wrist, trying to make him let go of Seth's neck, which he had in a death grip. Jake didn't even seem to hear her.

"Jacob." Sam warned from where he was standing by Emily. Everyone else was sitting or standing around the kitchen, watching the exchange.

Jake glanced at Sam before returning his glare to Seth's terrified face.

"This doesn't concern you, Sam." he growled.

"Jake! Let! Go!" Kori forced her way between the two and shoved Jake away with every ounce of strength she could muster.

Jake stepped back a couple steps, looking at her with anger and disbelief on his face.

"Kori, I will only tolerate so much. I barely put up with you two sleeping in the same bed nearly every night, that wasn't so bad when you were little. But now that you're imprinted and teenagers! No way. Not gonna happen. In fact, I don't want you two around each other alone. Got it?" he growled.

Kori glared defiantly at him, standing right in front of Seth.

"You have no say in that, Jacob. That's dad's call, not yours. So back off."

Jacob looked at her in complete shock and disbelief. "I have no say? You're kidding me, right? I'm your older brother! If I tell you that you can't see Seth, then you can't!"

"Since when?" Kori screamed, making some of the wolves cringe from the loud volume and higher pitch.

Jake looked confused. "'Since when' what?"

Kori swallowed the lump in her throat as she continued to glare at Jake. "Since when have you been my big brother?" she asked quietly, her voice hoarse and cracking near the end.

The entire pack stared at her in shock, accept Paul. He looked slightly impressed. Jake's tense muscles slackened as he stared at her in complete shock.

"W-what?" he breathed, his voice and expression showing pain.

Kori tried to maintain her glare but couldn't and looked down at the ground, feeling her eyes burn as a single tear slid down her cheek. A familiar, comforting hand rested on her shoulder from behind, causing warmth to spread through her whole body from that spot. She took a shaky breath.

"Kori…what's going on?" Jake asked quietly. "Does…does this have something to do with what we saw on the way to the border earlier?"

Kori laughed bitterly at his denseness. "You don't know anything, do you, Jake?" she looked up at him, more pain entering his face as he saw hers. Her eyes were watering and she just looked utterly broken. "You don't know the hell I've been going through lately. All you care about is your stupid Bella Swan. A leech could rip my head off and you wouldn't care. But that's just fine with me. I don't need you around, I've been perfectly fine without you. It's your loss, not mine. I've still got people I can look to as a big brother figure, but you just lost your only little sister. So, congratulations Jake."

With that Kori pulled out of Seth's grip and left the room full of shocked wolves as she raced back home.

**XXX**

**Wow, that was an eventful chapter! Several of you asked about Seth and Kori imprinting, and there it was. Plus Kori had a bit of a meltdown.**

**I also realize Seth seemed a little violent in this chapter, but he was defending his imprint.**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	14. Day of the Battle

Chapter 14

Day of the Battle

Kori tossed and turned, trying to fall asleep. But it seemed like every time she closed her eyes she saw one of her pack brothers or sister being crushed by a red-eyed vampire, or being bitten. And the howls of agony, even their voices screaming for help that she couldn't give, echoed in her head and ears.

Kori threw her blanket off her with a huff. That's it! Sleeping like this would be impossible!

Kori glanced around and bit her lip as her gaze landed on her sweatshirt. She knew that if she wanted to get any sleep at all tonight, Seth's place would be her best option. But she couldn't just wake him up. They all needed a good nights sleep tonight. The next morning was the battle against the newborns, and they all needed to be at the top of their game.

But Kori wouldn't be at the top of _her_ game if she couldn't get to sleep, and it was already going on 2 in the morning.

Kori huffed again as she made up her mind and got out of bed. She shuffled her feet across the room and picked up her sweatshirt, slipping it on over her head. She was looking around for her tennis shoes, 'I could've sworn I put them right here,' when she heard the familiar sound of rocks hitting her window.

A smile spread across Kori's face without her realizing it as she hurried to her window and opened it.

Seth jumped right up to her windowsill before swinging into her room. Before Kori knew what was going on, she was pulled into a firm, bare chest with a pair of strong, warm arms wrapped around her. Kori sighed with her face pressed into his chest, breathing in his familiar, musky scent.

"You okay?" he breathed in her ear, making a shiver go down her spine.

Kori pulled away to look up at him, but his arms still kept her close to him. "What are you doing here?" she whispered, not wanting to wake up her dad.

Seth's eyes seemed to search her eyes and face.

"You were scared. I could feel it. What's wrong?" he whispered gently, his chocolate brown eyes filled with concern.

Kori looked at the ground between their feet, noting Seth was barefooted and only wearing a pair of basketball shorts, and kept quiet.

Suddenly, she wasn't touching the ground anymore.

Seth had scooped her up bridal style and placed her gently on her bed, sliding in next to her. He pulled her close to him with his arms wrapped around her, pulling her mostly on his lap. He rested his forehead against her temple, making her close her eyes.

"What are you scared of?" he whispered, his warm breath on her neck making her shiver again.

Kori kept her eyes closed, but furrowed her brows stubbornly. "I'm not scared of anything." she grumbled, turning so she could hide her face in the crook of Seth's neck.

Seth rubbed one hand up her arm soothingly.

"Don't do that." Seth murmured into her hair.

"Do what?" she mumbled.

"You know you don't have to act all fearless with me. I know you better than that, Kor. Are you scared about tomorrow?"

Kori sighed. "Sort of." she answered after a while.

"Care to elaborate?" Seth asked lightly, rubbing circles on Kori's back with one hand.

Kori thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to word it.

"I'm…I'm not scared of the battle itself. And…I'm not scared of the fact that I could possibly die in the fight." Seth was about to argue, but Kori swept on, "Don't you dare interrupt me Seth Clearwater. You're the one who asked, and I'm answering. I guess…the only thing I'm afraid of is…that I could loose someone tomorrow. Any one of the pack members could die tomorrow. You, Paul, Jake…any of them. And…I can't bare the thought of someone dying over something that never had to happen."

Seth nodded with his cheek pressed to the top of her head.

"I know. But just remember that we've been training for most of this week, and we're built to kill vampires. We'll be fine, Kori. We just need to fight smart and we'll all pull through to make it home to our families. I promise."

Kori pulled away slightly to look up at him, her gaze slightly scolding.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." she grumbled before dropping the side of her head against his chest.

They never used to be so…cuddly. But over the past week they had gotten even closer than they were before, which Kori didn't even think was possible.

"Alright, but I _do_ promise that I'll fight smart." Seth continued, "So it's highly unlikely that I'll get hurt. Not like I'm gonna see much action anyway." he grumbled the last bit. Kori knew he wasn't very happy that Sam had pretty much put him on babysitting duty.

While most of the pack would be in the clearing fighting the vampires alongside the Cullens, Collin would be patrolling around Emily's house, Brady would be patrolling around the inner parts of the reservation, Seth would be staying near Edward and Bella's campsite in the mountains just in case, and Kori was supposed to stay at the edge of the clearing. She would be there to keep an eye open if any leeches tried to leave the clearing and to help keep an open link with Seth and the pups in case the others were too preoccupied and missed something.

"At least you're getting more action than Collin and Brady." she reasoned in an attempt to make him feel better. "Besides, you never know. Maybe a couple leeches will end up too close to the campsite and you'll have to fight." deep down Kori hoped that didn't happen. She didn't know what she'd do if something happened to him.

Seth grunted before pulling her closer to him so that she was all but shoved onto his lap. "I just wish you weren't so close to the fighting. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." he murmured, letting his head rest against her neck and shoulder. Kori shivered at his closeness but leaned her cheek against the top of his head.

"What if I promise the same thing you did? To fight smart?" she whispered.

Seth sighed, his face still hidden against her shoulder and neck. "That's probably the best I'm gonna get, huh?" he pulled back to look at Kori's face and she met his eyes. He smiled slightly at her. "You promise you'll fight smart, and I'll do the same. Okay?"

Kori smiled a little and nodded. "I promise." she whispered.

"Good. Lets get some sleep." he whispered, laying back and pulling Kori down on the bed with him.

Kori got back up to quickly pull of her sweatshirt, knowing she'd be too hot if she didn't. Then she flopped back down on her bed, feeling Seth pull her close to him with his arms wrapped around her.

In a matter of moments both were fast asleep.

XXX

Kori groaned and arched her back slightly in her sleep. She felt something hard under her and peaked her eyes open. She glanced around and realized she was in her bed with Seth. But to her surprise, she was using his chest for a pillow with one hand curling into her chest with the other one resting on his stomach. Well, his _abs_ to be more specific. Kori blinked before her eyes widened at his impressive body. Sure, she'd seen him, as well as the whole pack, shirtless. But this was different. Her _hand_ was resting atop his _abs_!

Kori held her breath as she realized her fingers were moving, slowly stroking the well-defined grooves and ridges of his abs.

She felt a breath on her hair and peaked up to find Seth watching her with amusement and something else in his eyes.

"See something you like, Kor?" he asked teasingly with a cocky smirk.

A deep blush immediately spread across Kori's cheeks and she ducked her head back down, pulling her hand into her chest so she wasn't touching him. What was she doing?! This was _Seth_! As in inseparable-since-birth, taking-baths-together-as-toddlers, best-friends-forever _SETH_! Why was she looking at him like that suddenly?

Kori swallowed and cleared her throat. "Um, we better get ready to go Emily's." she whispered before getting up, making sure she wasn't touching him. She didn't know how'd she react if they touched again after what just happened.

Kori took a quick shower before changing into gray running shorts and a red tank top. Together, Kori and Seth headed to Emily's house.

"So, what's your dad doing today?" Seth asked curiously.

"He convinced Charlie to hangout with him and Sue at Old Quil's today. Just in case Victoria decides to try going after him for being Bella's father."

Seth nodded as they approached the small cottage-like house.

When they entered Emily's house they headed for the kitchen where everyone else was, even the imprints. The only person who wasn't there was Jake because he spent the night in the mountains with Bella and Edward.

Jared was sitting at the table with Kim on his lap, Paul next to him, then Quil with Claire on his lap, Embry, Collin, and Brady. Sam was leaning against the counter watching Emily cook and Leah was standing alone in the corner, like usual.

Kori stood next to Seth in the doorway while Emily served breakfast. After everyone ate they headed into the living room for a brief meeting before the pack headed out.

Kori stayed standing, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe. Leah stood next to her with her arms crossed, glaring at the ground. Sam stood in front of everyone with Emily sitting in the recliner near him, holding his hand.

"Alright guys, I'll make this brief. Just remember your training from this past week, stay alert, don't let them get their arms around you, and don't do anything stupid. Everyone remember their positions?" Sam glanced over Kori, Seth, Collin, and Brady. They all nodded, Brady rolling his eyes. He wasn't happy that he was missing all the action.

"Good. We leave in five minutes."

In other words…'you've got five minutes to say goodbye'.

Leah just headed out the door to wait outside while the imprints clutched their wolves like their lives depended on it.

Kori took a deep shaky breath, looking around to see if there was anyone she particularly wanted to say goodbye to…or who wanted to say goodbye to her.

"You okay?" Kori looked up to see Paul leaning against the wall beside her, looking down at her seriously.

Kori shrugged. "I will be when this is over."

Paul nodded before heading over to Jared and Kim.

Kori was about to head outside with Leah when she felt someone grab her wrist.

She looked over to see Collin standing there, staring up at her with a glint of fear in his dark brown eyes that look so much like Jacob's.

Kori felt tears prick her eyes and Collin's body slammed into hers, hugging her to him like his life depended on it. Kori choked back a sob as she hugged her little cousin back and buried her face in his shoulder. Even though he was smaller than her in wolf form, he was a couple inches taller in human form.

"You've gotta come back, cuz." he whispered. "Mom and I can't loose you, too. Neither of us could take it."

Kori couldn't help smiling sadly into her cousin's shoulder. Connie Littlesea was Billy Black's younger sister and Kori's second youngest aunt. When Sarah married into the Black family she and Connie had become best friends. It was very hard on her, like the rest of the family, when Sarah died.

Kori swallowed as she lifted her head enough to rest her chin on Collin's shoulder. "I'll come back, cuz. I promise. Just stay out of trouble, okay? Take care of everyone here for me, alright? I promise I'll come back to you and Aunt Connie."

Collin nodded. "Promise. Nothing gets past me." he joked, lightening the mood.

Kori smiled as she pulled back. They smiled at each other, unshed tears glistening in their similar, brown eyes. Kori ruffled his short, black hair playfully, causing a light chuckle to come from his chest.

When Kori moved away from her cousin she realized Emily and Kim were both waiting for her, their wolves behind them watching with warm, yet sad smiles.

The two imprints moved to her, wrapping her in a group hug. After a few moments they pulled away, smiling sadly at each other.

When they went to hug other members of the pack Kori saw Quil heading her way, Claire in his arms. When they were closer Claire all but leapt out of his arms and into Kori's, wrapping her tiny arms around Kori's neck.

Kori and Quil chuckled quietly at the little girl. "She said she wanted to hug you goodbye." Quil explained quietly as he watched his imprint. Kori smiled at him before looking down at the little girl in her arms. Claire pulled back and looked up at her.

"Quilly promised to play wiff Claire after work." Claire said in her little toddler voice. Kori glanced up to see Quil roll his eyes good-naturedly, but Kori knew he loved playing with Claire, even if it meant playing dress up or something.

"Really? That sounds like fun, Claire Bear. What do you think you're going to do?" Kori asked cheerfully.

Claire scrunched up her face as she thought. "I don't know." she squeaked.

"You'll just have to think of something." Quil answered as he reached his hands up. "Come on, Claire Bear. Lets go say goodbye to the others, okay?"

"Kay!" she screamed happily as she reached towards Quil. Kori handed her back and watched as Quil took her over to Sam and Emily.

Kori noticed out of the corner of her eye that Embry was glaring at her by the wall.

She sighed before turning to look him in the eye.

"What now?" she asked quietly.

Embry narrowed his eyes at her.

"All the other imprints will be safe here while we're fighting. But my imprint? Nope. All because you're a selfish witch. Now Liz will be at risk if this goes badly."

Kori rolled her eyes. "You could've told her the truth at any time. I never stopped you."

"How can I tell her and bring her into this life if just being around you would put her in danger?" Embry snarled, leaning his face closer to hers.

Anger flashed through Kori. "I would never lay a hand on her, Embry, and you know it. The number one law of the pack is an imprint cannot be harmed. I am definitely not the one stopping you from telling her."

Embry opened his mouth to retaliate, but was interrupted.

"Oh, will you shut up?"

Embry and Kori looked up to see Jared coming toward them. Kim was saying goodbye to Paul.

Embry snarled at him. "What?"

Jared rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Em, quit blaming everything on Kori. She's not stopping you from telling Liz about us, no one is except yourself. Admit it, you're scared to tell her."

"I am not." Embry snapped.

"Bull crap. Every wolf is afraid of telling their imprint the truth. Sam was afraid to tell Emily, and I was afraid to tell Kim. Every wolf is afraid of being rejected by their imprint, so quit denying it. And for Gods sake, quit blaming Kori!"

Kori smiled appreciatively at Jared before walking past him. She'd had enough drama for the morning.

She went outside and waited on the porch with Leah.

After a couple more minutes the rest of the pack joined them and they headed towards the woods to phase. They raced to the clearing and took their positions behind a large boulder at the edge of the clearing.

"_Alright Seth. Head up to the campsite."_ Sam ordered. Seth nodded before trotting past his pack mates.

He paused by Kori, bumping noses with her in a silent act of reassurance that he'd come back safe. Then, he broke into a run to make it up to the campsite.

The pack waited in the shelter of the boulder for a while, the Cullens, apart from Edward, were standing in a line in the center of the clearing.

The pack tensed simultaneously when the sickly sweet scent flowed over the breeze, followed by the rustling of something running through the foliage. The Cullens rushed forward just as the army broke through the trees, crashing into them with terrifying force.

"_Now!"_

Sam's command was followed instantly as the pack leapt over the boulder, landing on the newborn vampires and ripping limbs off.

Kori peaked around the boulder, her eyes fixed on the fight so Seth and the pups could see what was happening through her mind.

She was slightly surprised to see the pack working with the Cullens. Esme threw one of the newborns into the air where Embry caught it to tear apart.

Kori's head snapped to one side as Jacob tore into the clearing, ripping leeches apart and she caught a glimpse of his thoughts. Oh, wonderful! The leech lover kissed him! Now they'll never hear the end of it.

Kori was distracted by three newborns climbing onto Sam's back. She could see he couldn't quite reach them so she leapt into the clearing, tearing two of them off and ripping them to pieces as he finished the third.

A flash of red caught Kori's eye and she looked into the trees. Victoria took off with another vampire…in the direction of the campsite.

"_Kori! Go!"_ Sam ordered before jumping back into the fight.

Without another thought Kori tore after Victoria through the trees.

"_Seth! She's coming! Tell Edward and get ready!"_

"_Got it. Thanks Kor."_

Kori focused on getting there as fast as possible, even though there was so much more she wanted to say.

When she was nearing the campsite she could hear Edward trying to talk some sense into Riley, who Victoria had brainwashed into thinking she loved him.

She heard Riley whisper, "You're dead." just as they came into her view.

Riley leapt into the air, only to be intercepted by Seth, who leapt into the air and knocked him to the ground. She slowed down and saw Seth rip Riley's hand off, causing an animalistic scream to tear from Riley's chest at the pain.

Seth kept lunging at Riley, trying to rip his legs off, but Riley kept kicking him away. Kori raced forward and sank her fangs into one of Riley's legs, effectively stopping his assault on Seth.

Riley then used his other foot to kick Kori off him before slamming his foot into Seth's head, making his head crash into the rock behind him and knocking him out.

Kori felt his pain tear through her head as she tried to stumble to her feet. Riley took advantage of their immobility to aid Victoria in her fight against Edward.

Kori climbed to her feet and shook her head before looking at Seth. His eyes opened to meet hers. Seeming to draw strength from that, Seth climbed to his feet.

As Edward threw Riley to the ground, Seth lunged and sank his teeth into Riley's shoulder, tearing into him. Kori raced in and took one of his legs into her own jaws, ripping and gnawing at it in her attempt to take it off.

Too distracted in trying to remove one leg, Kori didn't see Riley's other leg until it slammed into her head, knocking her away.

Her left side slammed into the cliff face before she slid down it, the jagged surface tearing her flesh. She swallowed back her whimper, knowing it would distract Seth, and shook her head to clear away any dizziness.

Once she felt steadier, Kori raced back to where Seth had succeeded in ripping off Riley's arm.

Kori then ripped both Riley's legs off before taking his waist in her jaws. Her eyes met Seth's and he nodded slightly before taking Riley's head in his own jaws. One sharp yank, and Riley was dead.

Kori stood panting for a moment, staring down at the granite body parts scattered before her.

A warm nose nudged her right shoulder, drawing her attention to Seth's warm, brown eyes looking down at her.

"_Come on."_ he nudged her one more time and she let him guide her.

They met up with Edward and Bella, Edward lit Victoria and Riley on fire so they would burn, and then the four headed down the mountain since the fight was nearly over.

Just as they entered the clearing a last newborn stumbled out of the trees, closest to Leah.

Leah snarled at it before lunging, Kori could tell from her thoughts that she wanted to prove herself to the rest of the pack.

"_Leah don't!"_

"_Stop Leah!"_

"_Wait!"_

The pack tried to get her to stop, but Leah slammed into him, barely fazing him from her attack. The leech wrapped its arms around her neck, causing her to choke and gag from lack of air.

Jacob launched himself at them, snagging the leech right off Leah's back. Kori stood frozen next to Seth as she watched her brother tumble across the clearing with the leech, trying to get a grip on it with his jaws. Then, the leech got his arms around Jacob's flanks and squeezed. Jake's snarling turned to yelps and whimpers as the sound of bones cracking filled the air.

Kori finally managed to move and raced forward with the rest of the pack as the leech threw Jake to the ground, writhing in pain. Paul and Sam ripped the leech apart as Jake phased back to human from the pain.

Kori stood frozen again, staring at her brother as his face contorted in agony and he bit back screams. Seth nudged her into the trees with the others and urged her to phase back, looking away as he handed her, her red tank top and gray running shorts.

She quickly followed the pack back to the clearing to find Edward, Carlisle, and Bella crouched around him.

"Jacob, you idiot, I had it!" Leah screamed at him as the pack gathered around them.

"Leah!" Sam snapped at her, sending her a warning glare before he crouched down next to Carlisle.

"I'll need to set the bones before his accelerated healing kicks in." Carlisle spoke quietly, examining Jake's broken arm. The rest of the pack looked on anxiously. "It's already starting."

"We need to get him out of here. We're not gonna win a fight with the Volturi." Edward pointed out.

"We'll take him back to Billy's." Sam suggested.

Carlisle nodded to him. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Hang in there Jake." Bella whispered as the pack moved to gather around him. Kori felt nauseous and wrapped her arms around her stomach as she watched her brother, hearing him whimper and groan in pain as he was lifted off the ground by their pack brothers. She was pulled into a tight embrace and buried her face in Seth's chest, trying to block out the sound as her body started shaking.

"Come on. Let's get to Billy's. Can you walk?" Seth whispered in her ear.

Kori swallowed and forced herself to nod. She honestly wanted nothing more than to fall into Seth's arms and let him carry her home, but she needed to be strong. For Jake.

**XXX**

**I wanted to keep going with this chapter, but it was getting pretty long so I cut it into two chapters. Be patient my faithful readers!**

**Also, to the reviewer named 'anybody' I know Jake's not normally such a jerk. In this story he really does care about Kori, I showed that in a few moments in the story, he's just struggling with a lot between Bella and the Embry X Kori drama. **

**Also, Kori's not really helping by pushing him away whenever he offers to help, she wants to handle things on her own and not drag anyone into it.**


	15. Get in there

Chapter 14

Get in there

They finally made it back to Billy's, who directed the pack to take Jake to his room. Afterwards Sam called the imprints, telling them to come to Billy's.

Carlisle arrived not long after Sam hung up the phone.

"I'll probably need at least a couple of you to hold him down. It's going to be quite painful. I'll have to re-break his bones." he said regretfully.

Sam glanced among the pack members currently waiting in Billy's kitchen.

"Paul and Embry." he finally decided. Kori figured it was because neither one had an imprint on the way over, while the others did. And he didn't want the younger ones to have to watch that.

"I suggest the rest of you head outside." Carlisle advised as he lead Paul and Embry to Jake's room.

Seth urged Kori to her feet and lead her to the door after the others. Before they reached the doorway a piercing scream echoed through the air, causing Kori to literally fall into Seth's side while he supported her with his arms around her. She whimpered and buried her face in Seth's shoulder as he held her close and calmed her down.

Once out in the front yard they stood together near the gravel of the driveway. The rest of the pack stood around as well. Sam and Jared stayed by Billy near the front door, Quil stood near Seth and Kori, and Leah stood on the opposite side of the yard.

Every time Jake would scream in pain Kori would flinch and bury her face in Seth's shoulder, trying and failing to block out the sound. She didn't particularly notice her pack mates casting sympathetic glances her way.

The sound of a car driving up finally pulled Kori's face from Seth's shoulder. Emily's silver 2000 Camry pulled up the driveway, causing Sam, Jared, and Quil to run across the yard.

Emily was pulled from the drivers seat and into Sam's arms, as was Kim from the passenger side by Jared, and Brady handed Claire to Quil as he got out of the back seat, followed by Collin.

Before any of them could say anything another scream filled the air, making the newcomers look around in shock and pain. They all glanced among who was outside, clearly noticing the absence of three pack members. Sam whispered something in Emily's ear, making Collin's head whip around to stare at Kori.

Kori met his gaze for a moment before dropping her head and leaning more into Seth's side.

After a couple moments she heard footsteps and glanced up. Emily had tears in her eyes as she reached forward and pulled Kori into a hug.

"He'll be fine." she whispered, rubbing Kori's back a couple times before pulling back. She then headed toward Billy with Sam following, carrying several containers with mouthwatering scents. Clearly, Emily had been busy all day.

Before Kori could lean back into Seth's arms Collin and Brady approached them. Collin's eyes were glistening with tears he refused to let fall.

Kori wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face in her baby cousin's shoulder as his arms wrapped around her in return.

"Thanks for coming back, cuz." he whispered near her ear, making a sob shake her shoulders before she could suppress it.

"I promised I would. And I don't break promises, especially not to family." she murmured quietly when she could speak again.

They pulled away from each other and Kori leaned back into Seth's side while he began filling Collin and Brady in on the action they missed.

Kori was pulled from her nauseous haze by the sputtering sound of a car engine. She looked up to see a familiar rusty, reddish pickup pulling up to the house.

A low growl erupted from Kori's chest as she lunged forward, only to be held back by Seth's arms.

"Kori, don't. Jake wouldn't forgive you if you hurt her." Seth whispered in her ear, but Kori continued pulling at his grip. When Bella got out of her truck she ran to the front door.

"Billy, is Jake okay, can I see him?" she asked frantically, causing another snarl to erupt from Kori's throat. This was all _her_ fault! And she just comes storming over like she actually cares?!

Carlisle came out a moment later with Paul and Embry on his heals.

"I've finished resetting his bones and gave him some morphine to help with the pain. He should be all healed by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

"Thank you, Doc." Billy said as he shook Carlisle's hand.

Bella hurried past them as Carlisle glanced among the pack, his gaze landing on Kori. Seth, Collin, and Brady tensed around her and she knew what he was going to say.

"Kori, would you like for me to take a look at your injury?" Carlisle asked calmly.

Kori swallowed as the whole pack and the imprints turned to stare at her in shock.

"What injury?" Seth asked quietly, his eyes burning her face as she looked at the ground.

"I'm guessing you didn't want anyone knowing about it?" Carlisle asked in gentle amusement. Kori glanced up at him with wide, sarcastic eyes that said, 'obviously'.

"What is he talking about?" Seth growled, turning Kori to face him with his hands on her shoulders.

Kori swallowed before looking down at her left side, a slightly darker red splotch showing on her already red tank top. It covered nearly her whole side.

Seth stared at it, lowering his hand from her shoulder to run his thumb over the damp fabric, causing Kori to wince. "How…" he couldn't finish, but Kori knew what he was asking.

"When we were tearing Riley apart he kicked me and my side got cut up on a jagged rock. But it's fine." she quickly reassured him, but he wasn't buying it. She couldn't blame him.

"Seth, let's let Carlisle patch Kori up before we interrogate her, okay?" Sam suggested from where he and Emily stood by Billy.

Carlisle lead the way back to the house.

"May I use your restroom to patch her up?" he asked Billy formally, who nodded tensely as Emily rested a hand on his shoulder.

Kori sat on the toilet with the seat down as Carlisle knelt on the ground before her. The injury hadn't healed much due to grit getting in it. He cleaned it before putting a large bandage over it. Afterwards, he lead the way into the kitchen, where most of the pack and imprints were waiting patiently.

Sam and Emily were standing near the corner of the counter by Billy; Leah was standing in the farthest corner; Quil was sitting at the kitchen table with Claire on his lap; and Paul, Seth, and Embry were all sitting with him. The rest of the pack must have left since Kori couldn't smell them anywhere nearby.

"I cleaned and bandaged the wound." Carlisle announced, speaking to Billy as Kori stood awkwardly to the side, feeling Seth's intense gaze fixed on her. "It should be completely healed come morning."

"Thank you, Carlisle." Billy responded as he wheeled himself forward, offering his hand to shake. "I can't thank you enough for helping my family."

"It's my pleasure. And it's the least I could do for their help in protecting Bella." Carlisle nodded once more to the pack before leaving.

Kori chewed her lip as the silence grew tense and nearly palpable in the air.

"Billy, I know you need to speak with your daughter, but I'd like to speak with her as well, if that's alright." Sam spoke respectively to his elder, who nodded in agreement. Sam jerked his head toward the door, signaling to Kori to follow him outside. Kori obeyed mutely, walking just far enough that the pack wouldn't hear if they spoke quietly.

Sam nodded to a rather flat chunk of firewood and Kori sat on it, resting her elbows on her knees as she looked at the ground.

After several moments of silence, Sam finally spoke. "Why would you do something so stupid?" he nearly growled, but managed to keep his voice controlled. "You should have told someone about your injury. You put yourself at risk, Kori. I'm responsible for you, just like the rest of the pack. But if you pull a stunt like that I can't do anything to help you."

Kori swallowed. "I know. I'm really sorry, Sam. I know I should've told someone, and I was going to, I swear I was. But then Jake got hurt, and I just wanted him to be okay. I wanted to make sure Dr. Cullen took care of him first and foremost. My injury is like a paper cut compared to his. I just wanted my brother to be okay." she whispered the last sentence, and noticed Sam relax slightly, his face showing sympathy.

He sighed deeply as he crouched down in front of her to get eye level.

"I understand that you were worried about your brother, and what you did is, in a sense, admirable. But it also put you at risk and that's not something I, or Jake, can have. When Jake finds out about this he won't be very happy that you were hurt, and he's already got enough to worry about. But again, I understand, just don't do anything like that ever again."

Kori nodded, still not looking at him. "I promise I won't, Sam. Sorry I caused so much trouble."

Sam sighed. "Don't even start on that, Kor. I don't need Paul getting on both our cases."

Kori smirked at that, knowing Paul would do just that if he heard her.

Sam stood up and Kori looked up at him. "Stay here, Billy wants to speak with you, as well."

After Sam went back inside Billy wheeled himself outside as well and Kori received pretty much the same speech she got from Sam, only Billy grounded her for the weekend.

Afterwards Kori stood up to go back inside with her dad, but he put his hand up to stop her.

"You're not free to go, yet, I'm afraid. A certain young man wishes to speak with you."

Kori sighed as she sat back down. "Seth's gonna yell at me, isn't he?"

Billy smirked. "I don't know about that, but I know he's not that happy that you got hurt."

Kori nodded as her dad turned and wheeled himself back to the house.

She heard familiar footsteps coming toward her and kept her head down, afraid to look Seth in the eye.

Another chunk of firewood was rolled in front of her and Seth sat on it, their kneecaps nearly touching due to their closeness.

They were silent for a while, and Kori was afraid to look up at him, afraid to see whatever emotions she was sure she'd find in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Can I see it?" his voice was a raspy whisper, but Kori heard it loud and clear.

Taking a deep breath, Kori shifted to look down at her side and lifted the edge of her T-shirt that she'd changed into. When she'd barely revealed half of the bandaging Seth's warm hand clutched the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up enough to see the whole bandage, but nothing more. Kori's hand let go of the fabric and she rested her palm on the edge of the log she was sitting on. She risked a glance up to see Seth's expression.

He was staring at the bandage, which was a white square of gauze surrounded by medical tape with a small splotch of red in the center from the blood. Seth's expression was intense as he stared at it, but Kori couldn't quite figure out what he was thinking. He didn't necessarily look mad or anything.

"Please just say something." she whispered, her tone begging.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly. Then, his hand let go of the fabric of her T-shirt, but his shaking hand simply rested with his palm over the wound. The warmth radiated from his hand and Kori felt it seep through her injury, slightly dulling the pain.

"Why?" he whispered. His voice was thick with emotion and Kori looked up at his face. Kori wasn't sure what he meant and looked at him in confusion. "Why would you keep that a secret?…Why didn't you tell me?" his voice was full of pained confusion, and Kori felt like her heart would break at his tone.

"I'm so sorry, Seth." she begged, her voice barely short of a whimper as her left hand came to rest on his wrist where it was still on her left side. "I didn't intend to keep it a secret that long. I was going to tell you or someone when we were going home, but then Jake got hurt and…and I just wanted him to be taken care of and…Seth I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I-"

Seth rested a finger over her mouth to stop her. "I understand that, Kori. He's your brother, of course you would do that. I'd do the same for Leah. But seeing you hurt, and knowing I didn't do anything to protect you or anything, kills me. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. You're the most important person in the world to me, Kori. You're my everything, have been since long before the imprinting. I love you. I can't loose you, Kori."

Kori didn't realize a tear had slipped down her cheek until she felt his thumb wipe it away, his knuckles brushing her hair out of her face before he rested his palm on her cheek.

His eyes were looking deeply back into hers as his thumb stroked her cheek calmingly. Then, his gaze flickered to her lips just as his thumb rubbed along the bottom of her bottom lip. His eyes moved back up to her eyes questioningly. Asking for permission, Kori realized with a jolt.

Kori subconsciously licked her lips and took a deep breath before giving the tiniest of nods.

Seth licked his own lips and swallowed before leaning closer, bringing his thumb to rest on her chin.

Kori sucked in one last breath before her eyes fluttered close.

She felt warm, soft lips gently touch hers before she leaned forward herself, pressing their lips firmly together.

She felt flames licking at her from where Seth had begun stroking his thumb gently across her injury on her side. His other hand slipped around behind her head, his fingers threading through her hair.

Kori's left hand slid from Seth's wrist, ghosting up his arm to rest on his muscular bicep. She swore she felt him shiver after the action.

Seth's tongue slid out and ran lightly over her bottom lip. Kori shivered at the contact and barely parted her lips, feeling his tongue slip into her mouth and play with her own, causing more shivers to run up her spine.

Kori's other hand went up to the back of Seth's neck, fisting the soft hair at the nape of his neck as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss.

A low growl came from deep in Seth's throat as he scooted to the edge of the log he was sitting on, getting as close to Kori as he could. His hand on her side slid slightly to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. Kori moaned back and slid her hand back around his neck and down his bare chest, running her hand over his firm abs, causing another moan of pleasure to slip from both of them.

Finally, when air became an issue, they pulled away slowly. Kori's bottom lip, which had been between Seth's teeth, slid from his mouth last as they rested their foreheads against each other.

Kori closed her eyes as they both caught their breath, Seth's hand coming back to rest against her cheek while his other rested on her hip just under her bandage.

She peaked open her eyes and looked at him from under her eyelashes. He was watching her with a look of amazement, love shining from his dark brown eyes.

Kori's face heated up and she bit her lip in embarrassment. She leaned forward and buried her face in his neck and shoulder to hide her blush. A breathy chuckle escaped Seth's lips and Kori smiled against his warm, slightly sweaty skin.

"The guys weren't kidding when they said kissing your imprint for the first time is the best experience in the world." he whispered, his warm breath grazing the back of her neck, which caused another shiver. His one hand came up to stroke the back of her head and neck while the other stayed rested on her hip. Kori's right hand was resting with her palm on Seth's chest just under his shoulder while her left hand had dropped to his leg just above the knee.

"What happens now?" Kori asked into his skin. Seth's hand paused in her hair for a moment.

"Well, it'd be kind of hard to go back after _that_. Especially since we did that in your front yard in full view of your kitchen window, where most of the pack along with your dad are currently waiting." Seth answered and Kori could tell he was smiling.

She pulled her head back enough to hit her forehead with her palm.

"I'm an idiot." she murmured, but couldn't help smiling in amusement. "They're never going to let us live this down."

"Probably not." Seth agreed good-naturedly. "So…what do you want to do?" he asked hesitantly.

Kori pulled back and looked up at him, meeting his chocolate brown eyes she loved.

"I think it's safe to say we're past the 'friend' stage. And…I could definitely get used to doing that more often." she smiled gently up at him and surprisingly didn't blush. Seth smirked at her words and quickly pecked her lips before pulling away more.

"So…is this where I ask you out on a date?" he asked teasingly, taking both Kori's hands in his own.

Kori looked up thoughtfully. "I don't know…why don't you find out?" she suggested cheekily.

Seth smirked again. "Fine. Kori Susanah Black, would you like to go on a date with me sometime?" he asked sweetly, flashing his adorable grin that showed his dimples that Kori'd always loved.

Kori tried not to smile, wanting him to sweat a bit, but failed miserably in her excitement.

"Yes!" she all but squealed as she threw her arms around his neck.

Seth chuckled as his arms wrapped around her waist. "I take it you're a little excited?" he teased.

Kori blushed and buried her face in his neck briefly before pulling away and shrugging.

"Maybe." she murmured with a grin.

Seth grinned back before standing up and offering his hand to pull her to her feet.

"We might as well face them now and get it over with." he murmured as they headed back toward the house.

XXX

When Seth headed outside to talk to Kori after Billy came in Paul moved to stand by the window as he ate a sandwich. He kept his eyes on the two as Seth sat in front of Kori.

"What are you doing?" Quil asked curiously as he bounced Claire on his knee.

"Just keeping an eye on them." Paul answered shortly, his gaze firmly fixed on the two pups as Seth's hand lifted Kori's shirt a little.

"Why?" Leah scoffed as she tossed an apple between her hands. "It's not like Seth's going to snap at her, that's something you'd do."

Paul's gaze snapped to glare at Leah momentarily before returning to the two outside.

"I know Seth'd never hurt her, I'm just keeping an eye on them."

Paul tuned out the others' conversations as he watched the two pups outside. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could see both had pained expressions, and Kori looked about ready to cry. She seemed to be begging until Seth put a finger to her lips to make her stop.

He was saying something and after a few moments he started leaning closer to Kori.

Paul's breath caught in his throat as he leaned closer to the window. As Seth's mouth met Kori's a huge smug grin spread across Paul's face.

"Ha! About time!" he shouted.

"What?" someone asked as a couple pack members joined him by the window to watch.

"Dude! I knew it!" Quil cheered as he held Claire to his side.

"Do you guys have nothing better to do?" Leah's question was ignored as the guys continued shamelessly watching the display.

When Seth pulled Kori closer to him Paul laughed out loud. "Alright! Get in there Seth!"

"Dude, that's my sister you're talking about!" Jake's disgusted groan floated through the air from his bedroom, making everyone else laugh. Even Embry cracked a smirk at the situation.

About five minutes later Seth and Kori finally entered the house hand-in-hand and joined everyone in the kitchen.

Seeing Paul's knowing smirk, Kori hid slightly behind Seth's shoulder and murmured and barely audible, "Crap."

"So, you two have fun out there?" Quil asked teasingly from where he'd reclaimed his seat at the table with Claire on his lap.

Seth growled quietly and squeezed Kori's hand reassuringly. "Quil, lay off." he warned.

"Yeah Quil, wouldn't want to end up like Paul at training a few days ago." Embry joked as he nudged his best friend's elbow with his own.

Sam shook his head in amusement from where he was standing with his arm around Emily's waist. "Alright guys, lets get out of here so Billy can have some peace with his kids."

The pack quickly filed out, Seth being last as he placed a quick kiss on Kori's lips before he left.

Kori bit her lip as she watched him leave, her eyes fixed on his back muscles as they flexed.

She definitely didn't expect the day to end like this.

**XXX**

**Just a quick note: I gave Kori the middle name Susanah because Kori and Jake's great grandfather Ephraim Black had a younger sister named Susanah Black, and since Jake's middle name is Ephraim I thought it fit that his little sister's middle name would be after Ephraim's little sister. Just thought it was cute.**

**Also a quick question: should I write the story through Breaking Dawn and show a bit of what the future holds for everyone? Or should I stop after all the problems are solved? Let me know please!**


	16. Advice

Chapter 16

Advice

Kori woke up Monday morning with a decision. She really didn't want to go to school this morning.

The weekend had been pretty relaxing. What with the redhead destroyed and the threat being much smaller, Sam had chilled a little on the patrols, only having one wolf patrolling every couple hours.

Jake had spent the whole weekend in bed so he could heal and be back in school come Monday. Kori had also had to give him a morphine injection every few hours since his high temperature kept burning it off faster than a normal human.

She had also noticed a change in Embry lately as well. He didn't verbally attack her so much any more, instead he'd moved on to completely ignoring her existence.

So, Kori really didn't feel like trying to handle school today, especially since everyone would've noticed that the pack had missed about a week of school and would definitely be talking about it.

Kori climbed out of bed when she heard her dad wheeling around in the kitchen Monday morning. She peaked into the kitchen to see him sticking bread in the toaster, so she cleared her throat. Billy looked over his shoulder at the sound.

"Morning sweetie. How'd you sleep?" he asked with a warm smile.

Kori smiled back and crossed her arms over her stomach.

"Okay. Um, hey dad? Can I, um…I really don't feel like I can handle school today. Is it okay if I stay home?" she asked quietly.

Billy narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Kori, you missed about a week already. I'm not sure how much more you can afford to miss."

"To be fair, I spent most of last week preparing to fight vampires." Kori pointed out carefully. "Please dad? I really don't think I can handle it."

Billy wheeled himself closer to her and motioned for her to bend down slightly. Kori obeyed, though she had no idea what he was doing.

He placed the back of his hand against her forehead for a moment.

"Well, you do have a fever. I'll call you in sick." he smirked and winked at her before wheeling over to the cordless phone in the kitchen. Kori smiled. She knew as well as her father that shifters couldn't get sick. Their extremely high body temperatures usually killed off any bad germs before anything bad could happen.

"Thanks dad." she whispered loud enough for him to hear before getting a bowl of ice cream and sitting on the couch, turning on the TV.

When she was about halfway through her bowl of ice cream her brother's scent got stronger and filled the room.

"You going to school in your PJ's?" he asked teasingly, making Kori look up. Jake leaned his elbows on the back of the couch to look down at her with his usual 'Jake' smile.

Kori shrugged. "I'm not going today. Dad called me in sick saying I had a fever."

Jake raised one eyebrow. "We always have a fever, Kor."

Kori rolled her eyes at him. "I realize that Jacob. I told dad I didn't feel like I could handle school today so he called me in sick so I can stay home."

Jake's brows came together in confusion. "Is everything okay? I know stuff's been going on with you lately, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Kori looked down at her ice cream and sighed. "I know, Jake. That's what everyone's been saying. Maybe I will…someday."

They were quiet for a moment before Jake ruffled Kori's hair. "Well, I'm off. Anything you want me to tell your boy toy?" he asked teasingly.

Kori glared at him for a moment. Several members of the pack had started calling Seth her boy toy since the battle on Friday, among several other nicknames.

"Tell him I'm not really sick and that I'm perfectly fine. And don't let him skip school to come here." she ordered.

Jake smirked and nodded before grabbing his bag and leaving. Sue came by just after to take Billy somewhere for the day, so Kori was alone.

She sat curled up on the sofa for who knows how long before her eyes landed on the cordless phone her dad had left on the coffee table. She hesitated for a few moments and glanced at the clock on the far wall. It was 8:43. School would've started by now so she was safe from anyone in the pack.

Taking a deep breath, Kori grabbed the phone and dialed a number she miraculously knew by heart despite rarely calling it.

It rang about four times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" a tired voice answered, clearly having been woken up.

"Hey Becca." Kori answered with a small smile.

There was a moment of silence before Kori heard rustling and something falling over.

"Kori? Oh my gosh is that seriously you?" Rebecca responded excitedly, clearly wide awake now.

Kori laughed at her response. "Yeah, it's me, Sis. Oh crap," she looked at the clock again. Hawaii was about two hours ahead of Washington. "I didn't mean to wake you up so early, I didn't even think about the time difference."

"Don't worry about it, sis. I needed to wake up anyway. I've gotta get ready for class." Rebecca Finau, formerly known as Rebecca Black, was Kori and Jake's older sister, also the younger twin of their other sister Rachel. She moved to Hawaii and got married to a professional surfer named Solomon Finau as soon as she turned 18. She also started taking art classes at one of the colleges in Hawaii, one of the things she got from their mom was her love of painting.

"Wait, shouldn't you already be in school right now?" Becca said suddenly. "Isn't it, like, 8:45 there or something?"

Kori swallowed. "Um, yeah but dad called me in sick, I've got a fever." that wasn't a lie, her dad called her in sick and she did have a fever, she just always had that fever.

The phone was silent for a while before her sister spoke again. "Alright Kori, what's going on?"

"What makes you think something's going on?" Kori asked, trying to sound innocent. "Can't I call my big sister to just talk?"

"Yeah, but you haven't in over a year. What's with the sudden change?"

Kori sighed deeply. She should've known she wouldn't get anything past her sister.

"I need advice." she finally admitted, knowing her voice probably sounded pathetic.

"Alright. What's going on?" Becca asked knowingly.

Kori swallowed again. "Well, it involves a really long story for it to make sense to you; you know, since you don't know what's going on."

"Alright, well, I've got time. Go ahead."

Kori took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "Okay, and, promise you won't pass this on to anyone? Especially Jake?"

"Depends what it is." she sounded slightly suspicious now.

"Okay, that's probably the best I'm gonna get from you. Anyway, um…You know I'm a freshman this year. Well, at the beginning of the year a group of people from my grade started…bullying me-"

"What?!" Becca interrupted in shock. "People are bullying my baby sister?! Why isn't Jake doing anything about that?"

"Becks, please! Just let me get this out. That's not even what I need advice on."

"Okay, sorry. Keep going."

"Okay. Well, most of the year I've pretty much been alone. Like, no friends or anything, which is pretty pathetic for a Black, apparently. Then, a couple months ago I started hanging out with a huge group of people. Made up of Jake, Quil, Embry, Leah, Seth, Jared, Kim, Paul, Sam, Emily, Collin, and Brady. Except, due to different ages, Collin, Brady, Sam, and Emily aren't in high school.

"Anyway, a little over a month ago Embry kind of…developed a serious crush on this girl. Like, he's basically in love with her. There's just one problem with that…"

"That a Junior in high school knows nothing about true love?" Becca interrupted sarcastically.

Kori narrowed her eyes slightly. "Hypocrite." she responded.

"Fair enough. So what's the problem with this girl?"

"Well…she's one of the girls who bullies me and her boyfriend is one of the guys who bullies me." Kori held her breath and waited for her sister to respond.

"Does Embry know about this?"

"No. I don't want to tell him. He knows something's up, so now he pretty much hates me."

"He hates you? Sweet, shy, innocent Embry Call hates you?!" Becca repeated in shock. Her and Rach used to baby-sit him, Jake, and Quil when they were little, so she knew him pretty well.

"Becca." Kori warned before continuing. "And the whole thing's been really hard on the p-group." she silently cursed herself for nearly saying 'pack', "I feel like I'm splitting everyone up."

"What do you mean?" Becca asked gently.

"Our group is like a huge family. Everyone looks out for one another. Ever since this whole thing started people have kind of been picking sides, if not officially, you know? Like, Jake and Quil have sided with Embry, but Quil's been a bit more hesitant after I stood up for him a while ago. Jared and Sam are kind of caught in the middle cause they know what Embry's going through but they don't want to gang up on me cause they know I'm going through a lot. And Leah, Seth, and Paul have been the only ones really sticking up for me"

"Does anyone know anything about what's going on?" Becca asked.

"No one knows about why I have a problem with Liz, the girl Embry likes. But Paul knows about the bullying."

"Paul?"

"Paul Lahote. He's a senior this year."

"Why'd you tell him what's going on and not someone else, like Seth or Jake?"

"I didn't. I wish no one knew. Paul found out on accident not long after I joined the group. Ever since then he's sort of been like an older brother, and he's been really protective."

"You're making it sound like you don't know what it's like to have a brother." Becca stated in confusion.

Kori sighed. "Well, Jake's been doing a pretty crappy job of being a big brother lately. You remember Bella Swan?"

"Charlie's daughter? Yeah I remember her."

"She moved back about a year ago and started hanging out with Jake a lot a few months back, because her boyfriend abandoned her. Because he was so obsessed with Bella he pretty much ignored my existence. So, he never really noticed when I'd come home with bruises or anything." Kori knew her voice sounded bitter, but she couldn't help it.

"Seriously? Jake's ignoring you over a girl? When I talk to him again…"

"Becks, no! He can't know. No one can know." Kori insisted.

"You called asking for my advice, right? Why not ask someone there? Maybe that Paul guy or something. Or you mentioned a couple girls you hang out with. Why not ask one of them?"

"I can't ask anyone who's part of it. There's, like, no secrets among us. If I talk to Kim or Emily it'll probably end up getting to Jared or Sam. And I don't even know what Leah would do if I told her. I had to ask someone who's not close to the situation…So what do you think I should do?"

"Honestly? I think you should talk to Embry and tell him the truth." Becca suggested gently.

Kori sighed and dropped her head back on the couch. "That's what everyone's been saying. Sam, Paul, Seth…But it's not that simple, Becks."

"Alright. Explain how it's not that simple. Why isn't it that simple?"

Kori swallowed the bile rising in her throat. "Because…if Embry knew the truth he'd have to choose."

"What do you mean 'he'd have to choose'?" Rebecca pressed.

"I mean, if he knew the truth he'd have to make a choice. He'd either ignore Liz and try to forget about her, therefore choosing his family. Or he'd choose Liz, therefore turning his back on me. He's been like a brother to me when we were growing up. I don't want him to go through the pain of choosing like that. And it would cause more problems with everyone. Seth, Paul, and Leah would probably hate him if he chose her, but I get the feeling others would hate me if he chose me. I don't want that. If I have to, I'll leave to keep everyone from getting hurt."

"Alright Kori, don't do anything stupid or rash, okay? Maybe you don't have to tell Embry right away, but isn't there anyone else you could tell? Like Seth, or even that Paul guy you mentioned?"

"I…I'll think about it. Thanks Becks." Kori whispered.

"No problem, Sis. Anything else you need to get off your chest?"

Kori thought for a moment. "No. I don't think so. Besides, you probably need to get ready for class."

Becca was quiet for a moment, probably looking at a clock. "Yeah, I've gotta take a shower. Say hi to dad and Jake for me, okay?"

"Okay. Say hi to Solomon for me, too. Love you, Sis."

"I'll tell him, and I love you too Kori. Talk to you soon."

"Bye."

Kori hung up the phone and placed it on the coffee table, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and her hands over her mouth.

A quiet knock made Kori's head snap around to stare in shock at her front door.

Paul was leaning back against the closed door, his hands in his jean pockets. He was wearing a white T-shirt, a black leather jacket, and dark jeans.

"How long have you been standing there?" Kori asked shakily when she could speak again.

Paul looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Well, when I walked in I heard you say, 'Hey Becca' into the phone."

Kori stared at him in disbelief. "So you just decided to listen in?!"

"Hey, chill out. I recognized the name as one of your sisters. Figured you'd want to talk to her without being interrupted so I decided to wait until after you hung up. Didn't think I'd be listening in on your deep, dark secret."

Kori swallowed thickly. "So…you heard everything?" she asked stupidly.

Paul nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off her.

Kori took a deep, shaky breath as she turned back around and stared at the ground under her feet, bracing her palms on the couch.

She felt the cushions shift as Paul sat next to her.

"What are you even doing here?" she finally asked, not looking up from the floor. "You should be in school."

"When Jake showed up without you Seth went ballistic. Only way to calm him down and keep him from skipping school was to say I'd check in on you and call him. We nearly had to call Sam and have him try Alpha commanding Seth over the phone to stay at school." Paul smirked down at her, making Kori smile slightly.

"Sounds like him." she admitted quietly as she slouched back in the couch. "So, you know the truth now. What are you going to do with it?" she asked quietly.

Paul was quiet for a few moments. "Well, just so I'm positive I understood you're little adaptation on everything…Embry's imprint is one of the girls who's been bullying you…Was she one of the girls who beat you the day Brady and Collin phased?!" he suddenly demanded.

"Yes and yes." Kori said quietly as she pulled her legs up onto the couch with her knees to her chest.

Paul nodded slowly. "Well, our deal still stands. When things get out of control you'll tell the pack, or I'll do it myself. However, I really think you should tell them sometime soon." Paul thought for a moment. "You know, this does explain a few things. Like how you didn't fight back when they attacked you."

"I couldn't. The number one law of the pack, remember?" Kori pointed out.

Paul nodded. "Still, I don't really get why you couldn't tell anyone. I mean, you'd rather be miserable while someone you hate gets a happily ever after? That makes no sense, Kori."

"I don't hate her."

"What?" Paul looked at her incredulously.

Kori shrugged and started picking at her fingers. "I don't hate Liz. I never have, actually. Even before I phased. I just didn't understand her. And then when Embry imprinted…I don't know. The human in me never hated her, but wanted to fight back when she attacked me. At least push her away or throw a punch or something. But my wolf wouldn't really let me, even if I wanted to break pack law. And actually…my wolf wanted to protect her, too. Which makes sense, with her being an imprint and all. But with the wolf wanting to protect her and the human wanting to fight back…I'm all just one bundle of mixed up emotions."

Paul thought for a moment. "That makes sense. And I know what you're talking about, my wolf's always wanting to protect the pack's imprints. However, you're not only an imprint, you're our pack sister, too. I'm not just going to sit back and let her get away with hurting you like that."

Kori smiled and looked up at him. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Paul stayed at Kori's house the whole day, the two mainly lounging on the couch while watching TV and snacking on whatever was lying around. Kori had to admit it was nice to have the company.

Later in the afternoon the front door slammed open and Kori hadn't even registered what was happening before a pair of scorching hot arms pulled her off the couch and crushed her to a firm, clothed chest.

"Um…yeah, Seth? Can't breathe." Kori mumbled into his chest as she patted his back. Seth took a deep breath before pulling back slightly.

"Are you okay? Do you feel sick? Why didn't you come to school?" he demanded, still holding her close to him.

"Seth, I'm fine. I just didn't feel like coming to school today." Kori reasoned gently, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Seth, you know we can't get sick anyway." Jake pointed out as he entered the house with Leah behind him.

Seth ignored him and glared down at Paul, who was eating chips and ignoring everyone.

"You were supposed to call when you saw her. Why didn't you?" he growled angrily.

Paul smirked before looking up at him. "Oh, was I? Guess it must've slipped my mind."

"A-hole." Leah growled from where she was standing by the door. "We had to have at least one person watching him at all times just to keep him from skipping school. He was going insane."

Paul shrugged, obviously not caring.

Leah growled again before storming out of the house.

Kori rolled her eyes before turning and burying her face in Seth's chest, breathing in his warm, woodsy scent.

Seth moved around her to sit down on the couch, pulling her down onto his lap with him. Kori turned sideways so her shoulder was rested against his chest and her feet were on the couch cushion between Seth and Paul. Seth's arms pulled her tightly to his chest with his face buried in her hair.

"I missed you." he breathed into her ear, making her squirm slightly in his lap, pressing her face into his neck.

"Yeah, I'm outta here. You two are so sickeningly sweet I don't know how your teeth aren't rotting." Paul snorted as he stood up and headed toward the door.

Kori pulled her head off Seth's neck to look up at Paul. "Hey Paul? Thanks for today."

Paul smiled. "No problem. See you tomorrow." he answered before leaving.

After a few moments Seth looked down at her. "So, what did you two talk about today?"

Kori shrugged before resting the side of her head against his shoulder. "We pretty much just watched TV and ate junk food. Nothing really exciting."

"Cool. But I asked what you talked about. Didn't you talk at all?"

Kori looked down at her lap. "Nothing much. Just talked about random stuff really, typical conversation stuff."

"Like?"

Kori sighed. "Um…we talked about…my sister. We also talked about you and the pack in general."

Seth nodded slowly before burying his face in her neck, breathing in her scent. His closeness started making her head fuzzy and she had to force herself not to squirm.

"Anything else?" he mumbled, his warm lips grazing the skin on her neck.

Kori sucked in a breath and, with the little common sense she had, realized what he was doing. He was trying to distract her to find out what she talked with Paul about. Well, two can play at that game.

Kori turned and pressed herself against Seth's chest and her face into the front of his neck under his chin.

She pressed her lips to his Adam's apple in a small kiss, feeling him stiffen, before she breathed, "Nope," against his skin.

He shivered and a small growl rumbled in his chest, vibrating under her own chest that was pressed to his, before he tightened his grip around her, burying his nose in her hair.

"You two better not start making out on my couch."

Kori pulled her head away as she and Seth looked up at Jake.

Despite her blushing face, Kori glared up at her brother. "I'm sorry, whose couch?"

"Well, I don't think dad would appreciate it either." Jake pointed out with a smirk.

Kori was quiet for a moment before replying. "Well, we could always go to my room."

"Don't even think about it." Jake growled, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Please don't push his buttons. I'd rather not die today." Seth pleaded quietly.

Kori rolled her eyes, but slid off Seth's lap to sit next to him, snuggling into his side to settle for watching some TV.


	17. I'm Sorry

Chapter 17

I'm sorry

Most of Tuesday was spent listening to the whole school talk about Kori and Seth's relationship. Apparently it was one of those things where everyone knew it was going to happen eventually, so when it does they decide there's nothing better to talk about. Kori would've hated it, but Seth decided to kiss her every time she got upset about something someone said. So she didn't mind all that much.

In her first hour history class, Liz decided to make a bigger deal than normal about their relationship, which Kori wasn't happy about, but she managed to ignore her.

At the end of the day Kori walked to her locker to get her backpack. She was surprised Seth wasn't there. He usually waited by her locker so they could walk outside together. She looked around the hallway after she opened her locker, but still no sign of Seth.

When she put her homework in her bag and stood up with it in one hand she looked around one more time. It wasn't Seth she saw coming toward her, however. It was Jackson, Liz, and their whole group.

"Crap." she muttered before slamming her locker shut, swinging her bag onto one shoulder, and hurrying down the hall. But before she could get away, Jackson intercepted her.

"Going somewhere, Black?" he asked sarcastically as he and one of his friends shoved her back.

Kori gripped her backpack strap tighter in her fists. "Yeah. Home." she answered shortly before trying to shove past them. But she was blocked by several arms shoving her back again.

"I don't think so. You've been gone for a while. What were you and your cult doing all last week?" Jackson asked smugly.

Kori gritted her teeth. "None of your business. Now, if you don't mind, I'm outta here."

"Actually, we do mind. Like I said, you've been gone for a while. We've got a lot of time to make up." Jackson answered as he cracked his knuckles. A few chuckles erupted from his friends. Kori could even hear the snobby laughs of Beth and Diane.

Kori buried her fear deep inside. Why should she be afraid of them? She fought vampires just a few days ago. What was there to be scared of?

"Well, my ride is waiting for me, so I'll have to take a rain check." she answered before trying one more time to shove past them.

This time someone shoved her so hard she hit the lockers beside her.

"Hey!" a familiar voice shouted angrily.

Kori moved away from the lockers and glanced nervously over her shoulder.

Seth stalked just past her and got in Jackson's face, Seth towering over him by a few inches.

"If you ever touch her again I'll kill you." he snarled.

Jackson laughed, along with all his friends and the trio of girls.

"Really, Clearwater? What're you going to do against all of us? In case you haven't noticed, you're kind of outnumbered."

"You need to learn how to count."

Kori looked over her shoulder while Seth didn't take his eyes off Jackson.

Jake walked up to them, flanked by Jared, Paul, and Leah. The four pack members stood just behind Kori and Seth.

Jackson scoffed as Seth stepped back to stand by Kori. "Look, this is a freshman problem, not a cult problem. Why don't you guys beat it and let us talk?"

"Oh, I know something I want to beat, alright." Paul growled, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your head off for hurting my sister?" Jake demanded, ignoring Paul's comment.

Jackson cross his arms over his chest, a smug smirk on his face while his friends all chuckled.

"Funny how you're just now stepping in, Black. I mean, we've been friends how long, Kori?" he glanced over at Kori, his smirk growing, "Eight, nine months? Basically the whole school year?"

Kori glanced back at Jake in time to see him look at her, his eyes filled with shock and guilt.

Kori looked back down at her feet quickly.

"Can we just leave, now, please?" she whispered, knowing the pack could hear her while the others wouldn't. Seth grabbed her hand in his, gripping it tightly.

"So, what, you guys have been ganging up on her all year?" Leah snarled angrily.

Jackson shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault no one wants to stand up for someone so pathetic."

"That's where you're wrong."

The pack glanced over their shoulders to see Quil and Embry heading their way. The two friends stopped just beside their pack members.

Embry's glaring, brown eyes scanned over the other group, until they landed on a familiar face.

Liz met Embry's eyes, and her face changed to one of shock and dread. Embry's eyes narrowed as he thought. When realization hit his eyes widened slightly, pain, both emotional and physical, hit him like a ton of bricks.

Jackson noticed the exchange between his girlfriend and one of the cult members.

"Hey, you." Embry tore his eyes off Liz and looked at Jackson, who had tried getting his attention. "You Embry Call?"

Embry narrowed his eyes slightly before giving a single, curt nod.

"I hear you've been messing around with my girl. As of right now, that stops. If you so much as talk to Liz you'll regret it, got it?"

Embry glanced briefly at Liz, who was looking at her boyfriend angrily, before meeting Jackson's eyes. "Don't worry. That won't be a problem anymore."

Agony filled Liz's face as tears brimmed her eyes.

Jackson glanced over the rest of the cult. "I think we're done here. Let's get out of here." he told his friends as he turned and lead the way down the hall.

Kori gasped in a pained breath as she turned to the others, ignoring them to look at Embry.

"Embry, I'm so sorry! I didn't want to hurt you! I-"

"Can we just get out of here?" he asked through gritted teeth, turning away from everyone to head back down the hall. Quil glanced at Kori sadly before following his best friend.

Kori tried to swallow but felt like she couldn't breathe. The one thing she would've done anything to prevent blew up in her face. She hurt her pack brother.

Warm hands gripped her shoulders and Seth bent to try and look into her eyes. "Hey, hey Kori, calm down, alright?" he cooed, trying to calm her down.

She barely heard Jake say, "Lets get to Sam's. I think we need to have a pack meeting."

Seth's arm held her close by the waist and she was lead down the hall. Whenever someone looked her way Paul would growl at them from where he was on her other side.

When they were outside Paul turned to Jake.

"How about Kori rides with me?" he suggested quietly, "I need to talk to her about some stuff."

Jake glanced worriedly at his sister before nodding to Paul.

When Seth went to pull away so he could follow Leah Kori gripped his arm with both her hands, accidentally digging in her nails. "Seth." she whimpered. He couldn't leave her, she needed him.

Seth pulled her close and looked pleadingly up at Paul and Jake.

Paul nodded. "Come on, pups." he said, leading the way to his Jeep.

"Kori, it's okay, I'm coming with you, but you've got to relax. Your nails are digging into my arm." Seth murmured in her ear when she didn't move.

Kori blushed as she let go of Seth's arm; noticing the little purple, crescent-shaped bruises from her nails heal before her eyes. Seth took her hand and lead her after Paul.

Seth opened the back door and waited for Kori to get in the back seat before following, sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulder.

Paul didn't say anything until he was out of the school parking lot, the pack pretty much driving in a line.

"Kori, I know you're not going to listen to me, you tend to make up your mind on your own, but I really do think it's time to tell the pack the whole truth."

Kori drew in a deep breath through her nose, letting it out through her mouth.

"I know." she whispered.

When they pulled up to Sam and Emily's a few cars were already there.

Jared's car was there, and he'd given Kim a ride. Embry's, Quil's, and Leah's cars were there. Finally, Jake's Rabbit was there, and he'd given Brady and Collin a lift.

"I'm gonna be sick." Kori mumbled as she felt her stomach clench with nerves. Seth rubbed her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"It'll be fine. I won't leave your side." he promised. Kori looked up at him, smiling slightly as she remembered promising the same thing to him before Harry's funeral.

"Thanks." she murmured and she gently pressed her lips to his. He smiled gently when he pulled away and got out of the car, helping Kori out after him. They walked hand in hand to the small cottage-like house. When they entered they saw Sam and Jake talking in the living room, everyone else's scents floated in from the kitchen.

Sam and Jake looked up when Seth and Kori entered. Kori looked down under their gazes and clutched Seth's hand with both of hers. Seth squeezed her hands reassuringly as he turned his head and buried his nose in her hair.

"It'll be okay." he whispered reassuringly, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Alright, lets get this meeting underway." Sam ordered. The pack began filing in and Seth gently tugged Kori to the recliner. After she sat down he sat on the arm beside her, keeping a firm grip on her hand.

Embry sat on the couch in the closest spot to Kori, Quil and Collin sitting with him. The other couch occupied Brady, Jared, and Kim. Leah, Paul, and Jake stood on the far side of the room, and Sam and Emily stood in front of everyone.

"So, is someone going to fill us in on what we missed?" Brady asked impatiently.

Sam glanced over at Jake before turning to Kori, his arms crossed over his for-once clothed chest.

"Kori, Jake and Paul inform me that something happened at school today, and that you are now ready to explain all the secrets you've been keeping. Is that true?" he asked commandingly.

Kori swallowed, looking at the floor instead of at her Alpha. "I'm not ready to, but I'm going to do it anyway. I can't keep everything quiet anymore."

"And…you're not going to leave the pack?" Collin asked nervously.

Kori looked at him in confusion before looking up beside her at Seth, who looked guilty.

"When you first said that I was still freaking out, and I had patrol with Collin later that day." he whispered. Kori tried not to roll her eyes.

"No, Col, I'm not leaving the pack. Unless…everyone wants me to after this." she added as an afterthought, glancing around the room nervously.

Jared sighed loudly. "Kori, you're our pack sister. Our little sister. No one's going to want you to leave, no matter what. We'll figure everything out."

"Says you, but not everyone's going to agree with that." Kori pointed out, glancing at Embry, who was watching her intently.

"How about you just tell the whole pack what's going on and then we'll decide from there?" Sam suggested patiently.

Kori swallowed nervously again as she felt her throat go dry. Here it goes, the moment she'd been dreading. She tightened her grip on Seth's hand before steadying herself.

"Okay, um, where should I start?" she asked shakily.

"The beginning would be helpful." Leah suggested with a shrug.

Kori nodded before looking at her hand that was gripping Seth's.

"Alright, well…the beginning of this year Jackson and his whole group of friends started picking on me-"

"That's putting it lightly." Paul muttered.

Kori glared up at him. "Shut up. Okay, fine. They started teasing me, then they started hitting me, punching me, kicking me, shoving me, and occasionally locking me in my locker. Is that what you wanted me to say, Paul?!"

When Kori finished her rant Paul looked at the floor and she realized everyone in the room was looking at her in shock. Kori swallowed and looked at the floor again, also realizing Seth was shaking slightly. She stroked his arm soothingly with her free hand until he calmed down.

"Kori…" Emily looked at her sadly from beside Sam, "why didn't you tell anyone about this?"

"More importantly, why didn't you tell me about this?" Jake demanded, his whole body shaking. His head snapped around to glare at Paul. "And you knew about this?! What the hell Paul?! Why didn't you say anything?"

"I made him promise not to!" Kori yelled before Jake could attack Paul.

"I'm gonna ask the question everyone's afraid to," Quil said suddenly, probably trying to change the subject, "Why was Liz at your locker today?"

Those who weren't aware of what happened earlier looked confused.

"Wait, what happened today? No one's told us yet." Kim spoke up quietly, clutching Jared's hand nearly as tight as Kori was holding Seth's.

Kori looked from Quil to Kim. "After school today Jackson and his friends came to my locker because I was gone for a long time and they 'had a lot of time to make up'," Kori used air quotes with her free hand, noticing a couple pack members grimacing.

"What?" Brady asked in confusion.

Kori sighed patiently. "They were going to beat me up, Brady." she answered in a monotone voice.

"So…Liz was…" Embry trailed off, his face going pale as he looked like he was going to be sick.

Kori glanced at him before looking away. She couldn't stand to see the raw agony in his glistening, brown eyes. "Liz is one of the girls who's been bullying me this past year."

"W-why didn't you say anything?" Embry's voice cracked as he spoke.

Kori looked at her lap before squeezing her eyes close to stop the tears threatening to fall.

"I'm sorry, Embry. I'm so sorry I hurt you." she whispered, her own voice cracking, "It's just that…things got really complicated. I'm a member of the pack as well as an imprint, and Liz is an imprint, too. Before you imprinted I was able to fight back or defend myself whenever her and her friends beat me up in the bathroom. But, then I couldn't. The number one law is that an imprint can't be harmed." Kori looked up at the pack, seeing realization dawn on most of their faces, "I couldn't fight back cause I'd hurt her." Kori looked directly at Embry, "The day you imprinted, when I came out of the bathroom after her and her friends? You got mad at me cause you thought I hurt her hand somehow?" Embry nodded, showing he remembered, "I didn't touch her. She slapped me in the face and hurt herself. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to split up the pack and because I didn't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me? How would that hurt me? You're my pack sister! You're family! And I've been treating you like crap for the past couple months! How could telling me the truth hurt me more than this?" Embry demanded, tears brimming his eyes.

"I-I didn't want to m-make you choose." she stuttered as tears spilled down her cheeks, "If you knew the truth you'd have to choose between her and me. You'd either continue being around her like nothing was different, or you'd try to deny the imprint or something. That would hurt you, and I didn't want that. So I let you continue thinking it was my fault Liz and I didn't get along, so you'd hate me. Then you wouldn't get hurt. And I was afraid of causing tension in the pack based on your choice. A lot of you would react differently based on his choice, whether you admit it or not." she added to the pack.

Kori put her face in her hands to try and rub the tears away, feeling Seth rub her back and stroke her arm.

"Kori, does anyone know about all this? Or any of it, for that matter?" Sam asked, his voice unusually gentle.

Kori dragged her hands down her face before crossing her arms with her elbows leaning on her knees.

She swallowed and cleared her throat. "Well, Paul-"

"Why did you tell Paul and not me?" Jake demanded, "Up 'til about two months ago you two hated each other."

Kori glared slightly up at her older brother, who looked slightly surprised at that response. "First of all, I didn't tell him willingly. He followed me when I phased out of anger the day I got my haircut. He saw everything and demanded a full explanation. After that we sort of came to good terms. And second of all, I didn't tell you because you didn't deserve to know."

Jake looked taken aback at her words. "W-what do you mean I don't deserve to know? You're my little sister."

Tears brimmed Kori's eyes and she ducked her head so no one could see her eyes.

"My little sister was being beaten up and you never told me?" Kori looked up to see Jake glaring next to him at Paul. Paul narrowed his eyes before lifting his head to look over at him.

"You think I wanted to keep that a secret?" he snarled. "You think I enjoyed knowing what was happening to her and not being able to do anything? She begged and pleaded with me not to tell anyone." Paul looked over at Kori before letting his eyes sweep over the rest of the pack.

"You guys remember the day Col and Brady phased?" Paul asked suddenly. Kori knew what he was going to say.

"Paul, shut up." she warned, her eyes slightly panicked at what he was about to announce.

Paul looked straight into her eyes, light sympathy, but also determination in his dark eyes. "Kori, either you say it, or I'm going to." his tone left no room for argument.

Kori bit her bottom lip to stop it from quivering as her eyes burned. She breathed out a shaky breath. "Alright, fine." she snapped as she wiped under her eyes. "You guys were right, Paul and I did skip that day, but I didn't have a choice. Paul offered to go with me so I had somewhere to go. I had to go somewhere no one would, like, see me because…because Liz and her little followers beat the crap out of me that day. Worse than usual." Kori looked up beside her and met Seth's worried eyes. "Remember when you described to me what you felt that day? You said you felt pain in your head, then your side and face? That really was me. They slammed my head into the sink, then the wall, then they knocked me down and started kicking my side and face. If I were human I'd be dead right now, or I'd have been at least in the ER. I had blood and bruises all over my face, as well as probably a cracked rib when Paul found me outside. I couldn't go anywhere because it would raise some questions and I'd start healing. That's why we skipped."

"MY SISTER GOT BEATEN WITHIN AN INCH OF HER LIFE AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" Jake roared before slamming Paul into the wall by the collar of his T-shirt. Paul just glared at him, not saying anything.

"Jake, let him go!" Kori ordered, "Paul was there for me, you weren't! He did more for me than you ever did."

Jake pulled away from Paul and looked at Kori in shock and pain.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he finally asked, "What makes you think I don't deserve it?"

Kori looked down, refusing to speak.

Paul's head snapped to look at the couches. "Col, you grew up with them, right?"

Collin was surprised for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yeah, I've known them both my whole life." he finally answered uncertainly.

"And how close do you think they were growing up?" Paul asked knowingly.

Collin thought for a moment. "Really close. Jake's always been super over-protective of her. I remember one time one of our cousins accidentally knocked her down when we were little and Jake went nuts about it."

Sam looked from Collin to Jake and finally to Kori. "So, what changed between then and now?"

Kori looked down again. "Bella." she whispered, knowing the pack could hear her.

Realization entered the packs' faces, while Jake looked even more confused.

"What does any of this have to do with Bella?" he demanded. Paul snarled at him.

"You moron. Are you seriously so dense that you don't see how obsessed you are with that leech-lover?"

Jake looked at the floor thoughtfully for a moment before looking up and meeting Kori's eyes.

"That…that's what you thought about when we were all going to the border, isn't it?" he finally murmured.

Kori nodded slowly. "Ever since you started hanging out with Bella you never noticed me anymore. I came home with bruises sometimes and you never even noticed them."

Jake swallowed thickly, making his Adam's apple bob.

Sam looked back at Kori once again. "When I asked you if anyone else knew about this, it sounded like you had more to say before Jake interrupted you."

Kori nodded as she looked at the ground. "Well, yeah. Becca knows."

"Becca?" Jake's head snapped up in surprise. "As in our sister Becca?" Kori nodded, "You told Becca about everything?"

"Well, I told her a non-supernatural version. I called her yesterday morning, wanting some advice on what I should do with the whole Embry-Liz problem. She basically told me the same thing Paul's been telling me, to talk to someone. And that's how Paul found out about the Liz problem, he overheard the whole conversation between me and Becca."

"Why didn't you ask someone here?" Emily asked gently. "Kim, Leah, or I would've been happy to help you."

"Yeah, but I know how hard it is for imprints to keep secrets from their wolves." Kori pointed out with a knowing look in Seth's direction, "I knew there'd be a chance Sam or Jared would've found out, no offense. And, I didn't know how Leah would've reacted."

Everyone looked at Leah, who shrugged. "Eh, I probably would've killed Call." she answered starkly.

"So, let me see if I've got everything straight." Sam started, "Embry's imprint, Liz, is one of the many kids in your grade that have been bullying you all year. And you didn't tell anyone because you didn't want to hurt Embry and make him have to choose. That right?"

Kori nodded. "Yeah, that about sums it up." she answered.

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I guess all that's left is what do we do now? Embry?" everyone looked carefully at Embry, who was looking at the ground.

He looked up and met Sam's eyes.

"There isn't even a choice, Sam. She hurt Kori. Imprint or not, no one hurts my family. I meant what I said when Jackson confronted me," Embry glanced around at the pack members that had been present during the confrontation, "I want nothing to do with Liz anymore."

"You realize how painful that's gonna be for you, right?" Jared checked carefully, his arm around Kim. "That's going to cause you both extreme agony. It could even kill you to try and deny the imprint."

Embry's normally shining brown eyes were dull as he looked back at his pack brother. "Maybe I deserve that." he whispered.

"Embry, you need to tread carefully." Sam reminded him gently, "No wolf has ever been able to deny the imprint before in the history of the Quileute pack. There's no telling what could happen to you or Liz."

Embry shrugged. "To be fair, there's also never been a female wolf in the history of the Quileute pack, either. And now there's two."

Sam sighed with a nod.

"Embry, no." Kori cried, looking at him pleadingly. "This is why I didn't tell you, I didn't want you to get hurt."

Embry looked at her sadly. "Yeah, but you got hurt instead, when you shouldn't have. You didn't deserve any of that."

"But-"

"Kori, I'll be fine." Embry promised strongly.

Kori gritted her teeth to keep from saying anything.

"Did these kids show any signs that they're going to continue giving Kori problems?" Sam asked after a few moments of tense silence.

"Not if they know what's good for them." Seth growled, earning a few surprised glances, as well as proud smirks from Jared, Quil, and Sam. He wasn't normally the temperamental type, but when a wolf's imprint is threatened they tend to get extremely territorial and protective.

Sam nodded in agreement to Seth's comment before glancing at Kori. "I say you have at least one pack member with you at all times, just in case. If these kids continue giving you trouble, we'll deal with them accordingly. Alright?"

Kori wanted to argue that she could take care of herself, but she knew that argument wouldn't get her very far. She sighed in defeat as she nodded.

Sam nodded once before turning to the rest of the pack. "Alright, whoever's due for patrol, get out there. Everyone else, there's food in the kitchen."

Collin and Brady stood up immediately, Sam had put them on patrols right after school so they could get to sleep at a decent hour. To Kori's surprise, the duo walked straight to her. Collin grabbed her hand out of Seth's and pulled her to her feet to crush her to his chest. It took a second for Kori to hug him back, squeezing him tightly as she buried her face in his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he pulled back. Then, Brady stepped in and gave her a small hug before pulling back to give her a reassuring smile and following Collin out the door.

Jared, Kim, Emily, and Quil all gave her brief hugs as well before heading into the kitchen.

Embry stood up and looked down slightly to look into her eyes. His dark brown eyes had lost the shine she was so used to seeing, turning a dull brown filled with pain and regret.

He sucked in a sharp breath before pulling her into his arms.

"I'm so sorry for everything, Kor. I should've trusted you. I'll do everything I can to keep you from getting hurt. You're not only an imprint, you're my pack sister. You've been like my little sister since I met you, and that's not going to change. I won't let Liz or any of them hurt you again, I promise." he whispered in her ear.

Kori sucked in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry, too, Em." she whispered.

Embry pulled back and gave her a pained smile before turning and heading for the kitchen. Now only Kori, Seth, Jake, and Paul were left. Paul stepped up and looked down into Kori's eyes.

"You okay?" he asked gently. One side of Kori's mouth quirked up in an attempt at a smile.

"Yeah, I guess I am glad it's all out now." she admitted quietly, "Thanks for everything."

Paul smirked. "No problem, pup. If you ever need anything, just let me know, and I'll be there. Alright?"

Kori nodded and Paul pulled her into his side, holding her tightly. When he pulled away he smiled once more at her before turning away. Before he could get very far, however, Jake rested a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

The two wolves stood still, their faces only a few inches apart as they stared at each other. Then, something Kori didn't expect happened.

"Thank you." Jake whispered with a small nod. Paul nodded in response before walking the rest of the way to the kitchen.

Jake turned to look down at Kori. He sucked in a deep breath as he looked down at her.

"Kori…I don't even know where to start. You're right, I don't deserve anything after the way I treated you. I screwed up. Badly. And you were hurt because of it. I wish I could go back and undo everything, but I can't. All I can say is that I'm so, so sorry."

Kori looked up into Jake's face for a moment as she heard him speak. He looked…different. He looked like someone Kori hadn't seen in a very long time, someone she missed. Her big brother.

At that thought tears pricked her eyes and she slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his middle tightly. He let his breath out in a whoosh before wrapping her in his strong, warm embrace that she hadn't felt in months.

"I can't say it's okay." she mumbled into his chest. "Because I went through months of pain, and you never noticed. But I can forgive you. You're my brother, and nothing's ever going to change that. Can we just put all this behind us? I'll…I can try to get past it, but you'll have to be patient with me. You kind of destroyed the trust I put in you over our lifetime, and it's going to take a while to build that back up. But I swear I will try to trust you again. Okay?"

Jake pulled back slightly and lifted her face up with his knuckle under her chin.

"'Okay'?" he repeated, "That's more than I deserve, sis. I'll do anything I can to rebuild that trust. I love you, Kori."

She smiled tearfully up at him. "I love you too, Jake." she responded. Jake hugged her tight once more before pulling away, offering his bright 'Jake' smile, and heading into the kitchen with everyone else.

Kori smiled as she watched her brother head into the kitchen, whacking Quil upside the head good-naturedly.

A warm hand gripping hers reminded Kori she still wasn't alone. She looked beside her to see Seth watching her with a serious, almost searching expression.

"You okay?" he asked gently, his dark chocolate eyes searching hers.

Kori smiled gently at him. "Yes, Seth. I'm perfectly fine now."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking suspicious. "No more secrets?" he checked.

Kori turned slightly to face him, smiling in relief for the first time in months. "No more secrets." she whispered, her voice choked from emotion at the meaning behind that simple phrase. It felt like she used to have to bear the whole world on her shoulders, and now, it felt like someone had taken that weight off her. Like she could breath without feeling like she was going to be crushed under the weight of her secrets. She wasn't alone anymore. And that realization made tears once again spring to her eyes.

She was crushed to a warm chest and she fisted the fabric of Seth's T-shirt as he held her close, stroking one hand from her head down her back.

"Good," he whispered, pressing a small kiss below her ear, "because I hated not knowing how to help you. I love you so much, Kori. Please, don't ever shut me out like that again."

Kori squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she buried her face in Seth's chest. "I won't." she whispered into the fabric, "I love you, too, Seth. I promise I'll never keep anything from you again."


	18. To Forgive or Not?

Chapter 18

To Forgive or Not?

The next day the pack stuck close to Kori whenever possible. It was slightly annoying. She had a feeling someone in the counsel, like Billy or even Sam, had pulled some strings to get certain members out of class early so they could meet her at her class to walk her to her next class. It was usually Jake or Paul but also Seth a couple times.

When lunch rolled around most of the pack was seated at their usual lunch table. Paul, Jake, and Quil were seated on one side while Leah, Seth, Kori, Jared, and Kim were seated across from them.

"Guys, check it out." Quil whispered cautiously. Everyone followed his gaze across the lunchroom.

Embry was heading their way, but he was intercepted by Liz, who stood up from her table to stand in front of him. His face looked like a mix of anger, impatience, and pain. Even from across the lunch room Kori could see he was paler than normal, with big bags under his eyes.

"Embry, hey, um, you weren't in Speech today. Are you okay?" Liz asked nervously, but the pack could hear her clearly due to their heightened senses. Kori looked back at Quil in confusion. That was certainly news to her. Quil shrugged before they turned back to the two across the room.

"I'm fine." Embry answered curtly.

"Look, Embry,…I'm really sorry, I…didn't know you were close to Kori. I didn't mean to-"

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say, Liz." Embry interrupted angrily, a small tremor running down his spine, "Kori's like my sister, and you not only hurt her emotionally, but physically as well. She's one of the most selfless people I've ever met. She took the rap for you. She let me hate her because I thought she did something to you, because she wanted me to be happy."

Liz seemed speechless, her mouth open but nothing would come out.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry, and your boyfriend doesn't want us talking. But leave Kori alone." Embry's voice was low and threatening as he spoke the last phrase. Then, he stalked right past Liz and headed toward the lunch table.

Instead of watching him, Kori watched Liz as she watched Embry walk away from her.

Their eyes met and Kori saw shame, regret, shock, and pain flash in her dark eyes. Kori simply narrowed her own eyes back at her before turning back around in her seat.

Embry had taken the seat between Jake and Quil, his elbows on the table with his head in his hands. Quil rested his hand on his best friend's back.

"Hey, you okay, man?" he asked quietly.

Embry took a deep, shuddering breath before he nodded slowly and lifted his head.

The rest of lunch was uncharacteristically quiet for the pack.

XXX

When her last class ended Kori hurried down the hall to get to her locker quickly. She couldn't wait to get home and far, far, far away from this building.

She found out after lunch that Embry had skipped his speech class to avoid dealing with Liz, that was why Liz was asking where he was.

As Kori was walking in the direction of her locker she saw Liz and her two followers walking the other direction, toward her, all three carrying their purses or shoulder bags.

Kori kept her eyes down, hoping they wouldn't even notice her.

She wasn't so lucky.

A hand slammed down on her books, knocking them all to the ground. Then one foot came out and kicked her stuff away. Then another. And another.

Soon almost a dozen people were kicking Kori's things around the hallway, their laughter echoing in her ears like voices in a cave.

She tried telling them to stop, not really sure what she was saying. She could feel people pressing in around her, a few shoving her around.

She didn't know how long it lasted, but Kori finally managed to gather all her things, shove through the crowd, and hurry down the hallway the way she'd come. She could feel tears burning in the back of her eyes as the sound of their cruel laughter continued to echo in her head.

Kori shoved her way into the bathroom, the same room that had been her torture the past several months. But now it served as a sanctuary from all the stares and laughs.

She managed to wipe away the few tears that had managed to fall down her cheek as she forced her breathing to calm down.

It was then that she heard something.

She looked over her shoulder. She could see someone's feet and hip just under the space of the stall door before her, like someone was sitting sideways on the floor inside the stall. She could hear muffled sobs and sniffs, as well as a pounding heartbeat. The scent of salty tears filled her nose along with a scent she unfortunately knew all too well.

_ 'What?'_

Kori took a deep breath before approaching the stall. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she pushed the door open.

There, sitting on the floor of the bathroom stall, tears streaming down her face and smearing her eyeliner, was Liz.

Kori's still-tear-filled eyes met Liz's own tear-filled eyes. Liz looked away for a moment before looking back up at her.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered brokenly, causing a new round of tears to flow down her cheeks.

Kori's whole body trembled as she lowered herself down to the floor on her knees before the girl who used to torment her.

"What?" Kori's question came out as a breath. She couldn't believe this. Was she hearing correctly?

Liz continued to stare at the floor. "I'm sorry…for everything," she said in between gasps, "You didn't deserve any of it. I don't…expect you to…forgive me…But I really am sorry for how I hurt you."

Kori shook her head slowly in disbelief. "Why?"

Liz slid her cell phone out of her jean pocket, opened up her old texts, and handed her phone to Kori.

Kori's hand trembled as she took the small device and looked down at the screen.

_ "You're a butt-ugly skank. Just kill yourself and save everyone the trouble of having to see your face."_

Kori didn't recognize the number that sent the text message, but one glance at the time it was received made Kori look up at the clock on the bathroom wall behind her.

Liz got this text only a few minutes ago, just after she knocked Kori's stuff out of her hands.

She looked back at Liz, seeing that she was trying to wipe the tears from her face despite the fresh ones replacing them. Kori herself had been like that hundreds of times in the past. She knew the pain all too well. No one deserved that.

"I forgive you." she whispered the words before she even thought about it.

Liz looked up at her, her glistening hazel eyes wide in surprise.

"Why? I don't deserve any of your kindness." she paused for a moment, "Did you really make Embry hate you? Instead of telling him the truth?"

Kori nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Why?" Liz shook her head in complete disbelief, "Why would you do that to yourself? For me?"

"It wasn't really for you. It was for Embry. He deserves happiness, and you made him happy. Well, you did until he found out the truth." Kori admitted quietly.

Liz looked away again. "He hates me. And I deserve it. Maybe I really should do what that text says." she looked slightly over at the phone Kori still held, her eyes full of hatred and pain.

Kori immediately shook her head. "No, don't, it's not worth it, Liz."

Liz dragged her gaze from the phone up to Kori's face. "Why? Why are you doing this? Why do you forgive me so easily after everything I did to you?"

Kori looked at the ground, her brows furrowed slightly.

"Well, no one deserves to go through this," she held up the phone for emphasis, "but I would like to know why you chose to do all that to me. Just, maybe not here?" she grimaced slightly, "It'd look kind of weird for us to be sitting on the floor and talking in the girls bathroom."

Liz managed a small smile and nodded. "Okay."

"Wanna go to my house?" Kori offered after handing Liz her phone back. "I made cookies last night and they're miraculously still there."

Liz looked doubtful. "I don't know. Wouldn't your…friends not like that?"

Kori stood up slowly, using the side of the stall for support. "No, they probably won't, but it's my house. If they don't like it they can scram, they don't normally hang at my place anyways. So, does that sound okay?" she asked as she held her hand out for Liz to take.

Liz hesitated for a moment before she nodded and took Kori's hand, allowing her to pull her to her feet.

Liz slung her shoulder bag over one shoulder while Kori grabbed her stuff off the sink counter, the two walking out of the bathroom together.

They walked down the hall towards Kori's locker quietly. When they neared her locker Kori could see Seth leaning against her locker, his hands stuffed in his jean pockets as he looked back and forth down the hall, worry etching his face.

When his eyes landed on Kori, his head perked up until he noticed who she was walking with. He fixed his confused eyes on Kori, but she only responded with a small smile, not wanting to get into a discussion in the middle of the school hallway.

Kori picked up her pace a little and Seth met her halfway, pulling her into his tight, safe embrace.

"You okay?" he whispered into her neck as he buried his nose in her hair.

Kori sighed, in both mild impatience and content. She pulled her head back slightly to look up at him. "I'll tell you in a bit, I just want to get out of here."

She slid out of his arms and got to her locker. Seth moved to lean on the locker beside hers, fixing his intense stare on her face. It was hard to concentrate and not fidget self-consciously under his gaze.

When she gathered everything into her backpack she pulled it over her shoulder and turned to Liz.

"You ready to go?" she asked kindly. It almost felt as if this was normal.

Liz nodded quietly.

They turned to start walking, Seth walking on the other side of Kori as Liz was on.

"We're going to my house to talk. You can come if you want, Seth, just don't start causing problems, please?" she turned her puppy eyes on her boyfriend.

His response was a quick peck on her cheek. "Promise." he murmured before taking hold of her backpack.

"I can carry that, you know." she answered as she kept a firm grip on her bag strap.

Seth looked down at her innocently. "But I don't have anything to carry. Please?"

Kori sighed and rolled her eyes as she let go of the strap. Seth kissed her cheek once more as he slipped the bag on one shoulder and took her hand with his free hand. Kori couldn't help smiling.

"You know, you guys are a really cute couple," Liz spoke quietly, hesitantly. Kori looked at her in surprise. "I know I've been a huge jerk about the two of you, but it was partially because I was jealous. You two are really cute together. Everyone knew you'd end up together eventually."

Kori blinked in surprise, exchanging a surprised glance with Seth.

"Um…thanks." she murmured after a few moments.

They walked down the hall together quietly, trying to ignore the shocked glances people threw their way as they passed.

Embry walked out of a classroom with his bag over one shoulder, but when his nose sniffed the air he froze and his head snapped up to stare at them in absolute shock.

The trio stopped in front of him and his gaze snapped from Liz, to Kori, to Seth, back to Liz, and finally landed on Kori.

"What?" he didn't seem to know what to even say. His wide brown eyes were full of shock and confusion.

Kori bit her lip and glanced at Liz hesitantly. Liz was looked at her feet anxiously, fear and discomfort rolling off her in waves. Kori sighed and looked back up at Embry.

"We're going to my house to talk things over. You are more than welcome to come if you want, but I don't need anyone causing problems. Okay?"

Embry's gaze snapped to Liz so fast, Kori wouldn't have been able to see if it weren't for her heightened senses. When his gaze was fixed on Kori again, he spoke, "You think I 'd be anywhere else?"

Kori smiled slightly at him before the four continued down the hall toward the front door of the school, Embry walking on Seth's opposite side.

When they were halfway across the parking lot the pack's cars came into sight, along with the pack members that were waiting.

Jared was standing next to Quil with one arm around Kim's shoulder, Leah was standing alone by her car, and Collin and Brady were standing together; they usually met up with the rest of them from the middle school that was connected to the high school.

But what surprised the four latecomers was that Jake currently had Paul pinned to one of the cars with his fists clutching the collar of his T-shirt.

Seth, Embry, and Kori exchanged worried glances as they paused in their walking. The rest of the pack watching either looked concerned, annoyed, or bored.

Quil glanced over before doing a double take when he noticed who else was watching.

"Um…hey Jake? You might want to see this." Quil called nervously, his eyes fixed on Liz where she was slightly behind Kori.

"What?" Jake growled, not taking his eyes off Paul.

Paul however glanced past Jake for a millisecond. Like Quil, he did a double take, the snarl on his face dropping in shock as he saw Liz standing close enough to Kori that their arms were almost brushing.

Jake's brows furrowed at Paul's reaction, causing him to look over his shoulder to see what had caused that reaction. He was as surprised as the rest of the pack when he noticed Liz among his pack members. His surprise caused him to let go of Paul to turn around. He turned his gaze to his sister, his eyes demanding an answer. Kori, however, ignored him and turned to Quil.

"What were they fighting about this time?" she asked.

Quil blinked before seeming to snap out of his shock. "Oh, um…" Quil smirked, seeming to recover, "They were fighting over, wait for it," he paused for effect, "who's the better big brother."

Kori turned to look at Jake and Paul, her mouth open in disbelief. "Paul." she whined.

Paul blinked before looking at her in insulted shock. "Why are you blaming me?"

Kori ignored him and turned to Jared. "Paul started it, didn't he?" she asked knowingly.

Jared smirked at her. "Yeah, he was worrying about you not being out here yet, Jake insisted you were fine, and then Paul muttered something about Jake not knowing anything about being a big brother. Then, Jake pinned him to the car."

Kori looked back at her brothers in disbelief. "Seriously? How old are you guys?" she asked sarcastically.

Paul ignored her and turned a glare in Liz's direction. "What's she doing here?" he asked, his husky voice barely short of a growl.

Kori glanced down slightly at Liz, who was about five inches shorter than her, and met her eyes.

"They're probably going to insist on coming. Is there, like, a certain limit to the number of people you want hearing this?" she whispered, knowing the pack could hear her anyway, but wanting to give Liz the illusion of privacy.

Liz glanced nervously over at the rest of the group before looking back at Kori and shrugged. "It's your house and your friends. I know at least most of them are going to want to hear my reasoning for what I put you through. They can come if they want to." she whispered back.

Kori narrowed her eyes sympathetically. "Are you sure? I could only let a few of them, if you want. There's a couple that wild horses couldn't stop from being there."

Liz smiled slightly at that. "It's okay. They can come. They all deserve the answers as much as you."

"Well?" Paul asked loudly, impatiently. Jared cuffed him on the shoulder.

"Well, let's head over to my place?" Jake looked to Kori questioningly, and she nodded in confirmation.

"No fair," Brady groaned as the pack started piling into their cars, "we've gotta work! I want to hear this!"

Quil clapped Brady's shoulder as he walked past. "Don't worry, bro. I'll fill you guys in at Sam's later."

"That reminds me; Jare, can you call Sam and fill him in?" Jake asked as Kori and Liz got in the back seat of his Rabbit.

"Sure thing." Jared answered as he and Kim got in his car.

The ride was awkwardly quiet. Kori humored herself by looking out Jake's rearview mirror to see a line of pack member's cars. She could really only see Paul's car right behind them, and she could barely see Jared's behind his. But she knew the rest of the pack, minus Collin and Brady, were behind them.

When Jake pulled his Rabbit up to the house Kori got out, holding the door open for Liz to follow. She lead the way into the house, Jake staying back to probably double-check Jared called Sam.

When she opened the door to let Liz in she said, "You can sit down if you want. I'm just going to get the cookies from the kitchen." she turned to head for the kitchen but paused and turned back to the living room, "Hint of advice: if you want a cookie, you might want to grab one before the guys get in here."

Liz smiled in slight amusement at that comment. Kori hurried into the kitchen, grabbed the plate of cookies and hurrying back into the living room. She sat on the middle cushion while Liz was seated beside her by one of the arms. The pack slowly started to trickle into the house.

Seth sat on Kori's other side on the couch, pulling her close with one arm around her waist. Kori smiled at him before taking a couple cookies and giving him one. Liz had taken one as well.

Embry sat on the armchair close to Liz, his eyes fixed on her face, as if studying her. Paul and Jake took up stances in front of everyone, Quil stood off to the side of them, Kim sat in the small rocking chair on the other side of the couch, Jared standing behind her, and Leah stood next to the couch where Seth was sitting.

Paul glared slightly down at Liz. "Alright, we're all here. Now talk." he ordered.

Embry growled quietly, his wolf wanting to protect his imprint despite what the man in him had said earlier.

"Paul!" Kori snapped at him. "Either you take a cookie and stuff it, or you can leave. I just want to settle this peacefully."

Paul glared at the ground, but kept quiet. Kori knew that wouldn't last.

She glanced over at Liz.

"So…where do we start with this?" she asked quietly.

Liz thought for a moment.

"How about we start with why you decided to hurt my sister?" Jake growled at Liz. Kori growled quietly back at him, not letting Liz hear, to let him know he was pushing it. He didn't seem to care.

She looked back at Liz. "You want me to start with how we know each other?"

Liz nodded mutely.

"Alright, well," Kori turned back to face the pack, "like most kids on the rez, Liz and I've probably known each other since preschool. We just never really got to know each other until…probably about fifth grade?" she glanced at Liz, who thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, then we kind of became friends, even best friends in a sense."

"Wait a minute." Jake interrupted suddenly, glancing between Kori and Liz, "Are you the girl who used to spend the night over here whenever I went over to Embry or Quil's? My dad used to call you Little Lizzy?"

Liz blushed and nodded.

Embry looked up at Jake in disbelief. "Seriously, dude? You knew her all along and you're just now figuring that out?"

"Hey, the last time she slept over was probably, what, last year, and I barely got a glimpse of her." Jake defended himself.

"Can I continue?" Kori asked impatiently. Everyone shut up and Jake nodded at her. "Thank you. Anyway, when we went into ninth grade, Jackson and his friends seemed to suddenly notice me, and decided making my life a living hell would be fun. Then,…I don't know what happened." Kori turned to look at Liz, her eyes showing her confusion and pain.

Liz sighed as she played with her fingers on her lap.

"When we went into freshman year, while you were being bullied by Jackson and a bunch of other freshman, a group of upperclassmen, juniors and seniors, started picking on me. Nothing like what we did to you, mostly they'd spread rumors about me or…send text messages. I don't even know how they got my number."

Kori's eyes widened slightly as she looked at Liz. "That text…? There's more of them?"

Liz nodded. "Oh yeah. Lots."

"What are you two talking about?" Seth asked gently, his thumb stroking Kori's hip.

Liz sighed again and pulled out her phone, scrolling through her texts as she spoke. "Today, I got this text from someone. I've gotten lots of messages similar to this one."

She handed her phone to Embry. He looked at it and anger burned in his dark brown eyes. His head snapped up to meet Liz's gaze.

"Someone's actually sending these to you?" he snarled. Liz looked down and nodded.

"What does it say?" Quil asked as Jake held his hand out for the phone. Embry looked questioningly at Liz, who nodded. Embry handed the phone to Jake, who read it. He even looked slightly angry. He passed it to Paul, and they passed it around the room so everyone could see it.

"Why would someone send that to someone?" Kim asked after she read it, her voice full of hurt that someone would really do such a thing. Jared rubbed her shoulders soothingly.

"Better question, if Kori was your friend, why'd you put her through hell?" Paul demanded coldly.

"Paul, what did I say earlier?" Kori hissed at him.

"No, he's right." Liz whispered. "I deserve that. When I started being bullied at the start of this year, I also noticed that Jackson and his friends were bullying Kori. So, I thought, if you can't beat them,… join them. Maybe the upperclassmen would leave me alone if I became more like them. So I started joining Jackson, Beth, and Diane when I saw them bullying you." she looked apologetically over at Kori, "Then, I sort of became friends with Beth and Diane. I started changing, too. I was becoming more like them, so I could fit in and not be bullied, even though it didn't really work. Then, Jackson asked me to a dance, and then we started dating."

"So, what changed?" Jared asked from where he was standing behind the rocking chair, hugging Kim from behind, "What made you have a change of heart like this?"

Liz thought for a moment before looking over at Embry, who straightened slightly when her gaze fell on him.

"When I started hanging out with you, I started to feel…different." she said to Embry, "Like, normally with Beth and Diane, and the whole group, I feel like I have to be this person I've become. But with you…I'm actually kind of ashamed of being that person. I feel like I can…I _should_ be the real me. The person I was before."

Embry looked shock into silence. "Really?" he whispered. Liz nodded before looking down at her lap.

"Then, yesterday Jackson said we should all go to Kori's locker, since we hadn't had the chance to…you know…with her being gone and all. So we all went. When you guys all showed up to defend her…I was surprised. No one's ever done that for me, in fact I don't think any of my so-called friends would ever stick up for me if I needed it. And then…when you came," she looked over at Embry, meeting his eyes, "When you looked at me, I felt like I just wanted to die right there. I can't really explain it, but it just hurt to see the way you looked at me when you realized…what I'd been doing to Kori. And then, when Jackson told you to stay away from me, and you agreed, I felt like I'd been stabbed in the gut. That probably sounds really stupid." Liz looked down at her lap, suddenly remembering they weren't alone.

Kori glanced knowingly around at the rest of the pack.

Embry's hand shot out and grabbed Liz's, squeezing it to make her look at him. When she did he looked deep into her eyes. "No, it doesn't." he answered firmly. Liz smiled slightly at him.

"So, what happened today to make you two buddy-buddy?" Paul asked, his voice still hostile.

Kori glanced at Liz. "Do you want me to explain, or do you want to do it?"

"You can explain you're point of view, if you want. I'll tell my part."

Kori nodded in agreement.

"Well, today I was walking to my locker when I saw Liz, Beth, and Diane walking in the opposite direction, towards me. When they passed me someone knocked my stuff out of my hands. Then, several people in the hallway started kicking my stuff around so I couldn't get it. When I'd finally grabbed all my stuff I ran to the bathroom cause…cause I kind of started…crying." Kori whispered the last word and ducked her head down in embarrassment. The last thing she needed was the guys knowing she was a total wimp. Seth's chest vibrated slightly as a low growl rumbled in his chest.

Kori cleared her throat but kept her head down. "When I got in there and calmed down a little I heard someone else in the bathroom, crying. I turned around and could see someone sitting on the floor in one of the stalls. I opened the door and there was Liz." Kori glanced at Liz questioningly, wondering what had happened.

"I'll admit, it was me that knocked your stuff out of your hands." Liz admitted quietly, "I'd been really confused about what was going on in my head since yesterday afternoon. I didn't want to hurt you, but I still felt like I had to if I wanted to fit in with the others. So, I knocked your stuff down. Then, I got the text. I don't know why it affected me so bad, I've gotten worse messages before. But it just hurt, so I ran to the bathroom because I knew I was going to cry."

Kori nodded slowly in understanding.

"Then what happened when you two saw each other?" Quil asked curiously.

"We talked a little bit, and Liz apologized…several times. Then we decided to come back to my place so we could talk everything out without sitting in the girls bathroom. That's pretty much it."

Paul looked at Liz suspiciously. "So she apologized, what makes you think she means it?"

"I could tell, Paul." Kori retorted.

"I still can't believe you're really willing to forgive me so easily." Liz spoke guiltily.

Kori glanced past her and met Embry's eyes. "I just think it'd be easier to forgive and move on than dwelling on it."

Embry smiled gratefully at her. Kori knew he'd be in a tight spot if she wasn't willing to forgive Liz after all this.

Kori then looked around at the rest of the pack, silently pleading for at least one of them to step up and accept Liz's apology as well.

Liz seemed to guess what Kori was doing. "They don't need to forgive me, Kori. I'm surprised you were willing to forgive me so easily, I don't expect them to do the same after everything."

"Just a quick question, what are you going to do about your friends?" Quil asked. The question sounded simple, but seemed to hold a ton of weight at the same time.

Liz shrugged. "What I should've done a long time ago. I'm going to cut myself off from them. I won't be friends with them anymore, and I'll break up with Jackson."

Kori looked at her in surprise. "Really? You're going to break up with your boyfriend over this?"

Liz shrugged. "Yeah, plus I've been wanting to for a while now, anyway. He's starting to get really pushy."

"Pushy? Pushy how?" Embry asked harshly.

"Like what happened yesterday. He's always telling me what to do and what not to do, or who I can and can't hang out with. It's getting out of hand." Liz explained.

It was quiet for a moment before Quil spoke again. "Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I know for a fact that Kori's a great judge of character. If she's willing to forgive you after everything you did, simply because she knows you sincerely mean your apology, then so can I."

Kori and Liz smiled appreciatively at him, and he returned the smile. Kori then looked beside her at Seth. His eyes scanned her face for a moment before he sighed silently through his nose.

"I forgive you, too, Liz." Seth spoke around Kori. Liz blinked in surprise before smiling slightly as her eyes glistened a tiny bit.

"Thank you, Seth." she whispered.

Kori glanced around the room again, meeting eyes with everyone.

Embry gently took Liz's hand like he had earlier.

"I forgive you, too. As long as you don't hurt my little sister ever again." he said. Kori rolled her eyes in an attempt to hide her blush as she turned and buried her face in Seth's shoulder.

"Little sister?" Liz repeated in confusion.

"Kori's like our baby sister. That's why we're taking this so seriously." Jared explained.

Liz nodded before looking back at Embry. "I promise I won't hurt her ever again."

Kori pulled her face from Seth's shoulder and looked back at Liz as a thought occurred to her.

"Who are you going to hang out with and sit with if you completely cut yourself off from your friends?"

Liz shrugged again as she answered, "I'll probably do what you did for most of the year. I'll just sit by myself. If you did it, I could, too."

Kori shook her head. "I did it because I didn't have any other options-"

"Liar." Seth couched into his fist.

Kori glared at him.

"What?" he asked, "It's true. You had plenty of options, and you know it. You could've sat with me or with the guys."

Kori rolled her eyes and turned back to Liz.

"My point is, you could hang out with us. You're already friends with Embry and I, and we've got plenty of room at our lunch table. So why not?"

Liz looked doubtful. "I don't know. I don't want to intrude or anything."

Kori looked at her pointedly. "If this is because there are _certain_ people here who you think don't like you, ignore them. Paul hated my guts when I joined the group."

"I did not! We've been over this, Kor. I didn't hate you." Paul argued.

"If you want to get all technical." she replied, earning a few chuckles from the others.

Paul simply rolled his eyes. "That's besides the point here. That was a completely different story. The rest of you might be able to forgive her, but I can't do that so easily. In case some of you forgot, I saw the hell Kori went through because of her. I saw Kori that one day after Liz and her little followers beat the snot out of her, her face covered in blood and bruises. Like I said, you guys may be able to forgive her, but that's going to take quite a while for me."

Everyone looked down awkwardly after Paul's little speech.

"I understand." Liz spoke quietly, looking at her feet with her hands in her lap. "Quite honestly, I don't deserve your guys' forgiveness, or friendship for that matter. Just know that everything I've ever done to Kori, all of it, ends now. I promise."

"We'll hold you to that." Jake responded, speaking for the whole pack, "In the mean time, you are welcome to eat with us, and just be in the group in general. If you want."

"Don't worry, we won't make you take steroids." Paul taunted.

"Honestly, I don't think you guys are a cult, or on steroids or anything like that. Granted, I don't know what's going on with all of you, but I don't think it's anything like everyone says."

The pack blinked in mild surprise before a few of them smirked a bit.

"Well, just so you know, I forgive you." Kim spoke in her usual quiet voice before glancing around. "Anyway, I have homework I've got to get done, so I'll see you guys at school tomorrow."

"Bye guys." Jared waved before taking Kim's hand and heading for the door.

Everyone echoed their goodbyes as the couple left.

"Well, I'm out." Quil added as he pointed his thumb at the door. "See ya guys later."

"Bye Quil." they all called. Leah turned and left after him, not saying anything.

Embry cleared his throat. "Um you want me to walk you home?" he offered Liz awkwardly.

Liz blushed and giggled quietly. "Sure, thanks."

Embry stood and offered his hand to help her up and they left, still holding hands to the surprise of the others.

"Paul, can you at least try to forgive her?" Kori pleaded after Embry and Liz had left.

Paul narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not making any promises, Kor. I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." he turned and left before anyone could answer.

Kori sighed as she slouched back into the couch. Seth's arm tightened around her, pulling her flush against his side.

"He'll come around, Kor." Jake assured her as he turned to leave the living room, patting her shoulder as he passed the couch. "But you know it's going to take a few of us a while to get over what she did."

"I know." Kori whispered as she rested her head on Seth shoulder. Seth's hand that was around her waist started rubbing her arm as his other hand grabbed hers, threading their fingers together. Kori felt his lips press to her head.

"I'm proud of you." he murmured into her hair. Kori pulled her head away enough to look up at him.

"For what?" she asked curiously.

Seth moved his hand up to her head and pressed her head back to his chest, running his fingers through her short, silky, black hair.

"For forgiving Liz after everything. A lot of people wouldn't be able to do that. And you're actually trying to rebuild your friendship with her, too. That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. You truly are one f the most amazing, kind, beautiful people I've ever known."

Kori snuggled her head deeper into his chest. "Paul doesn't seem to think so." she mumbled as she studied their entwined hands.

"He'll come around. You're his little sister, too, just like Jake and most the rest of the pack. They're just looking out for you. It might take some time, but everything will get better. You did the right thing, baby." Seth murmured as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head.

Kori ducked her head as she blushed. That was a new nickname, but definitely one she could get used to being called.

She peaked up at him for a moment before pressing her lips to his jaw briefly.

"I love you." she whispered quietly.

Seth smiled before he leaned his head down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, her nose, and finally her lips before he rested his forehead against hers and looked down into her eyes.

"I love you, too."

**XXX**

**Just so everyone knows, I got the idea for the beginning of this chapter from the music video for **_**Are You Happy Now?**_** by Megan and Liz, so credit for that goes partially to them. I highly recommend watching the music video and listening to the song, it's a very sweet, touching song.**


	19. It's a Surprise

Chapter 19

It's a Surprise

Liz hurriedly stuffed her homework into her shoulder bag at her locker. The day had gone pretty well, so far. She was lucky and hadn't seen Jackson at all the whole day. However, lunch could've gone a little bit better.

_Flashback_

_ The lunch table was just as noisy as it always was. On one side of the table sat Leah, Seth, Kori, Liz, and Embry. Across from them sat Paul, Jake, Quil, Kim, and Jared. Liz talked mostly with Kori, Seth, Embry, Kim, and occasionally Jared. But she noticed Paul never even looked her way, talking with just about anyone except her._

_ Quil was laughing at some corny joke Embry told when he looked up past them. His face grew serious, flickering to Liz and Kori nervously._

_ "Hey, Liz." greeted a familiar, nasally voice. Everyone at the table grew quiet and tense as they looked over Kori and Liz's heads at who was standing behind them._

_ Kori and Liz exchanged a glance before they looked over their shoulders to see Beth and Diane standing behind them._

_ "So, Liz, what are you doing?" Beth asked expectantly._

_ Liz cleared her throat as she glanced at Embry before meeting eyes with her two former best friends._

_ "I'm eating lunch. With my friends." she answered slowly, as if talking to a three year old._

_ Beth and Diane both looked shocked before quickly covering it up._

_ "Let me guess, you're the newest member of the LPG and you and Embry Call are screwing each other." Diane responded arrogantly, earning a few quiet growls from several members of the pack. Liz noticed they did that once in a while. It was kind of weird at first, but Liz had started to get used to it. She noticed Embry was shaking and glaring up at the pair of girls standing before them._

_ "I think you two need to leave." Seth suggested, pulling Kori's chair closer to his with his arm around her waist as a precaution._

_ Diane scoffed at him. "Like you have any right to tell us what to do."_

_ "You can either stay, or you can have your faces rearranged. Your choice." Leah suggested in a bored tone with a shrug._

_ They ignored her and turned to look at Liz again._

_ "What's Jackson going to say about this? Didn't he tell you just a couple days ago to stay away from Embry?" Diane asked pointedly. Embry stiffened and glanced nervously over at Liz. She, however, aimed a leveled glare at the two girls._

_ "What goes on between me and Jackson is none of your business. You'd be good to remember that." she warned._

_ Beth's gaze flickered over to Kori, and Seth's arm instinctively tightened around her waist._

_ "Why are you sitting with _her_?" Beth asked in disgust as she wrinkled her nose, as if she smelled something bad. She should try being in the pack's shoes. Her perfume was burning their nostrils like skunk spray._

_ "I'm sitting with her because she's my friend. If you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my lunch." Liz answered simply._

_ "You're choosing _them _over _us_?" Diane asked in shock._

_ Liz glanced back at the people sitting at the table behind her before turning and meeting Embry's warm, chocolate eyes._

_ She turned back and looked confidently up at Beth and Diane._

_ "Yes."_

_ The two girls exchanged a look of complete disbelief and shock at her answer._

_ "I suggest you beat it." Quil answered, his voice and smile mocking kindness._

_ The two girls scoffed, turned, and stomped back to their lunch table._

_End of Flashback_

Liz sighed at the recent memory before she swung her bag on her shoulder. She slammed her locker door shut, only to jump in surprise to see Jackson leaning against the next locker over, her locker door hiding him until she closed it.

"Hey, babe. Haven't seen you all day." he greeted her with his usual smirk as he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her close. Just as he bent down to kiss her, Liz pulled back and managed to get free of his arms. He looked at her in confusion.

"Babe, what's wrong?" he asked carefully, his tone suspicious.

Liz took a deep breath as she thought to herself, 'Okay, you can do this. Just say it, and get it over with. He can't do anything in public.'

"Jackson, I don't think this is working out. We're done." she finally answered, managing to keep her voice from shaking.

Jackson's eyes seemed to darken right before her, turning almost black in anger. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, jerking her so her face was only a couple inches from his.

"This is because of Call, isn't it? You're dumping me for him, aren't you?! I know you've been hanging out with the cult. So, what? Now you're going to dump me and become a druggy like them?!" Jackson shouted in rage, earning a few glances from other students in the hall, but no one intervened.

"Jackson, you're hurting me. Please, let go." Liz whispered, trying not to anger him anymore then he already was. She'd never seen him this angry before, but what was she expecting?

"No." he spat. "You are not breaking up with me. Not over _him_. You're mine, not his." as if to prove his point, Jackson shoved Liz back against the lockers, causing her bag to fall to the floor.

"I don't belong to anyone." Liz retorted as she glared up at him. She wasn't really scared, she was pissed. "And you know nothing about any of them, especially not Embry. And you have no say in who I can and can't hang out with. Now. Let. Me. Go."

Jackson gritted his teeth in anger before he raised his hand to backhand her. Liz forced herself not to close her eyes or flinch.

As if in slow motion, Jackson's hand came down toward her face…until another hand shot into her view and gripped his wrist.

Liz exhaled slowly before everything seemed to snap back into normal speed.

Jackson was yanked away from her and slammed against a locker next to Liz's. She stepped away from the lockers to get out of the 'Danger Zone' and to see who her rescuer was.

She certainly wasn't expecting who she saw.

"Paul?" she whispered in confusion.

Paul Lahote had Jackson pinned to the locker by the collar of his shirt actually holding him about seven or eight inches off the ground.

"Get it through your thick skull, dipstick. She dumped you. You ever try to lay a hand on her again, you'll have to answer to me and pretty much the whole group of what you call 'the cult'. Got it?" he snarled.

Jackson glared at him for a long moment before he nodded curtly.

Paul dropped him and glared at him until he scurried down the hall like the little rat he was.

Liz rubbed her arm as she looked awkwardly at the ground, not knowing what to say. Paul hated her, that much was obvious. So, why did he help her like that?

Paul was shaking slightly, but after taking a few deep breaths his shaking calmed down and he bent to pick up her bag, which she'd temporarily forgotten about.

"Here." he said gruffly as he held the bag out to her.

"Thanks." she whispered as she took the bag from him and clutched it to her chest. Paul's dark brown eyes scanned over her for a moment.

"You okay? He didn't hurt you?" he asked curtly.

Liz shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thank you, but…why'd you do that?"

Paul glanced briefly at her face before looking at the floor. "I'm not gonna lie, I haven't even come close to forgiving you or anything. But you mean a lot to Embry, and Kori, too, in a way. Plus, any guy willing to beat a girl like that for dumping him deserves any pounding he gets coming to him." Paul finished glaring down the hall in the direction Jackson had disappeared in. Then, he shook his head sharply and looked down at Liz again.

"Come on, lets get out of here." he said gruffly as he started walking down the hall to the front door. Liz stood for a second before following him.

XXX

"Where is she?" Embry asked for the thirteenth time in the last six minutes as he paced around in front of his friends.

Quil sighed impatiently. "Dude, school didn't even get out that long ago, she's probably just leaving her locker or something. Chill out."

Embry glared at his best friend. "You're one to talk. Do I need to mention how annoying you get when Claire's parents are even five minutes late dropping her off at Emily's?"

The pack snickered while Quil rolled his eyes. "Shut up. At least I-" Quil cut off suddenly when he looked past Embry at something.

Everyone noticed and followed the direction of his gaze.

Paul and Liz were walking toward them…together.

Kori exchanged a surprised glance with Seth, who had his arm around her shoulder while they leaned against Jake's Rabbit.

"Um, hey. What were you two up to?" Jared asked the two curiously.

Liz cleared her throat awkwardly. "I, um, I broke up with Jackson, and he didn't take it too well," Embry growled lowly at that news, "and then Paul showed up."

The whole pack turned to stare at him in shock.

"What?" he demanded at their looks.

"You…protected her?" Embry checked uncertainly, not sure what to think of the news.

Paul rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "No, I let him beat the snot out of her. Of course I defended her. Any loser who'd be willing to stoop low enough to beat up a girl for that deserves to get a good beating."

Embry blinked before whispering quietly enough that only Paul could hear, "Thank you."

XXX

"Is this really necessary?" Kori whined as the hairdryer blew her chin-length hair all over the place.

"Yes it is." Kim answered as she turned off the hairdryer and placed it on the bathroom counter. She then picked up Kori's hairbrush to brush through her soft, black hair and get the tangles out. "This is your first date, and you need to look perfect."

Kori sighed loudly to show her annoyance. "Even though Seth refuses to tell me where we're going or what we're doing, I'm pretty certain it's on the beach due to the fact that I saw you and Liz set out my new bikini on my bed. So what's the point of doing my hair if it might get wet anyway?"

Kim paused in her brushing. "Um…because…" she shook her head and started brushing Kori's hair quicker than before. "Just trust me, Kori. His reaction will make it all worth while. You'll thank me for it later."

Kori simply rolled her eyes and allowed Kim to treat her like her personal Barbie doll.

It was 5:30 Friday night, and Kori was getting ready for her first date with Seth, with the help of Kim and Liz because they knew what the date was, and she didn't. Seth insisted it be a surprise. And it was bugging Kori like crazy!

"You done with her hair?" Liz asked from the bathroom door.

"Yep. Lets get moving. We have twenty-five minutes to make you gorgeous!"

Kim and Liz ushered Kori back to her bedroom to finish getting ready.

Kori pulled on her new bikini that Emily had picked out when she took her shopping in Port Angeles. Then she slipped a sundress that Kim had given her on over it.

Then Liz sat her down on the edge of her bed to do her makeup.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Kim came back in the room and Kori caught a whiff of a familiar scent that sent her nerves into overdrive.

"Your date is here." Kim announced teasingly and Kori couldn't help squirming a little, butterflies erupting in her stomach.

Kori took a few deep breaths as Kim and Liz hurried out of the room to the living room. She followed more slowly, pausing before she turned the corner.

"I now present, Kori Black." Kim announced as she raised her hands toward the corner where Kori was hidden from view.

Kori took another deep breath before stepping around the corner. She stared at the ground until a pounding heartbeat joined her own, making her look up from under her eyelashes. She'd managed to talk Liz out of mascara or eyeliner, only sticking with the basics like blush and lip-gloss.

Standing just in front of her front door stood Seth Clearwater. He was wearing a black form-fitting t-shirt, dark wash jeans, and gray tennis shoes. His cropped, black hair was spiked upwards slightly near the front, but still looked softer then ever. Kori finally looked at his face and probably blushed bright red seeing his expression.

His eyes were so wide they looked like near-perfect circles, and they were darker than normal, his skin looked softer then normal too, and his mouth was hanging open. Kori could've swore she saw a little bit of drool at the corner of his mouth. Yep, she was definitely blushing now.

Kori was wearing a sky-blue strapless sundress that went just above her knees. It had a white strap around the waist, the bodice hugged her body, while the rest of the dress flared out from the white strap on down. The string of her black bikini was visible from where it went around her neck and tied in the back. She was also wearing simple black sandals.

Seth finally closed his mouth and swallowed thickly as he continued to stare at her.

"You're so beautiful." he whispered. Kori wouldn't have been able to hear him if it weren't for her heightened senses.

"Ahem." someone cleared their throat and Kori looked over to see Jake watching them with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. Just behind him Jared and Embry were sitting on the couch looking over the back, both snickering.

"What are you two doing here?" Kori asked the two morons, completely ignoring her brother for the moment.

"I'm here for my girlfriend." Jared answered as he pulled Kim down onto his lap, causing her to squeak in surprise before a dark blush spread across her cheeks.

"And I'm walking Liz home." Embry answered with a shrug, his dark chocolate eyes sparkling.

"You going to remember the number one rule, Seth?" Jared asked teasingly, "'Use protection'?"

Kori blushed bright red and Seth growled angrily.

"You two better not be doing anything that involves needing any kind of protection. Got that…Seth?" Jake spoke forcefully.

"Hey, I'd never make her do something she doesn't want to do. You know that." Seth pointed out.

"And if she did want it?" Jared asked teasingly, glancing over at Kori.

"Okay!" Kori shouted to interrupt any other contributions to the conversation. "I DON'T want that anytime soon, and YOU," she pointed at Jared as she glared down at him, "stop trying to get my boyfriend murdered!" Jared and Embry chuckled at the comment. Kori decided to ignore them and turned to Seth. "Can we go now?" she begged.

Seth chuckled and took her hand.

"Curfew?" Jake asked expectantly.

"Eleven o'clock." Kori answered the practiced response before practically dragging Seth out the front door.

When they were on the sidewalk in front of the house she let Seth take the lead, still holding hands as they walked down the sidewalk. They were quiet for a few moments.

"Well, that was awkward." Seth finally mumbled.

Kori groaned and buried her face in his shoulder as they walked. "I'm so going to kill Jared on patrol tomorrow."

Seth laughed. "I would love to see that."

They were quiet again as Kori thought of something. "Um…Seth?" she asked uncertainly. Seth looked down at her in concern. "Um, well, we're not…What Jared was insinuating…I'm not ready for that."

Seth blushed and looked down. "Yeah…I don't think I am either."

"And…my mom was really…fervent with the whole 'no sex before marriage' thing. And I really…well, could we…?"

Seth pressed his lips to Kori's forehead. "We'll wait until you're ready, I promise. I honestly think my mom would appreciate the idea of waiting until after we're married. And that's going to be a while."

Kori nodded with her head rested against his shoulder and her eyes closed. When they stopped walking Kori opened her eyes. They were at the edge of the beach.

"I knew it." she whispered, earning a quiet chuckle from her boyfriend.

"Come on." he whispered, tugging her hand to walk on the beach. They headed for a picnic blanket that was sprawled across the sand just a few meters out of reach of the water. They were the only ones on the beach, probably because it was about fifty-some degrees.

"You up for some cliff diving?" Seth asked, his voice sounding like he was trying to cover up his nervousness.

Kori giggled. "Absolutely."

Seth turned away slightly and pulled his t-shirt over his head. Kori glanced down at herself and swallowed nervously when she realized something.

"Um…Seth?" she whispered. Seth turned back to her, his t-shirt in his hands. "Can you, um…unzip my dress?" she whispered the last three words as she turned around to show her back. She could hear his heartbeat pick up, which caused her own to do the same.

"Sure." his voice squeaked as he answered, making Kori bite her lip to keep from laughing. He cleared his throat and a moment later she felt the heat of his rough fingers through the fabric of her dress. He pulled the zipper from between her shoulder blades until it was at the small of her back just above her butt.

"Thanks." she murmured when his hands were gone. She took a deep breath before slipping the dress off onto the picnic blanket, kicking her sandals off after. She turned around to see Seth was in his swimming trunks, his chiseled abs in perfect view.

When he turned her way his eyes widened and his jaw went slack. Kori glanced down, noting that her new black bikini perfectly complimented her tan and obviously put her own abs on display. Her abs weren't like his, thankfully, that would be gross. But her muscles were firm and slightly defined, and she knew she looked hot.

When she looked up again Seth was looking around at anything but her.

"Um…we should probably get up to the cliffs now if we're going to get in a few good jumps." he whispered.

Kori bit her lip again and nodded. Seth took her hand in his and they walked up the path to the top of the cliff.

When they reached the very top cliff Kori peaked over the edge, seeing the dark water hundreds of feet below. It was surprisingly calm today, not really crashing against the cliff face.

"You want to go together or separate?" Seth asked curiously, gazing at her face.

An idea popped into Kori's head and she smiled slightly.

"Um, you can go first, if you want. I'll go after you." she answered as she looked up at him.

Seth looked curious, he knew she wasn't afraid or anything, but he didn't see any reason to argue.

"Alright." he answered after a moment. He let go of her hand, almost hesitantly, before walking backward away from the edge. Kori stood off to the side to watch.

Seth raced forward and leapt into the air, raising his arms above his head as he plummeted towards the ocean below feet first. Kori smiled at his 'whoop' of excitement. She waited until she saw him hit the water and come back up a few seconds later before she walked away from the edge.

She braced herself for a run before sprinting forward. She pushed off the edge of the cliff, flying through the air, her arms spread out like a bird's wings. Heat filled her body as she literally felt Seth's eyes on her. She closed her eyes and held her breath when she felt herself being pulled down. She brought her hands together as she swan dived, her body curving gracefully.

When she hit the water her body sliced through the surface like a knife. She curved up and swam back up, breaking the surface with a gasp of fresh air.

Seth swam up to her with a huge smile as he took her hand, the two swimming back toward shore together.

When they could touch the ground again Seth looked over at her, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Show off." he smirked at her, making her smirk back.

"Maybe." she answered with a shrug.

They jumped a few more times before heading back up the beach to their picnic blanket. It was probably going on six o'clock. When they neared the blanket Kori noticed something. There was a picnic basket.

She looked at Seth in confusion. "What?"

Seth smiled cheekily. "Dinner." he answered simply.

Kori rolled her eyes as she sat on the blanket with him. "That doesn't really answer my question, Seth."

Seth blushed slightly. "I had one of the guys drop it off while we were cliff diving." he said as he opened it and pulled out a plastic container of…chocolate-covered strawberries!

"Oh my Gosh! I love you!" Kori exclaimed. That was her absolute favorite thing to eat, ever!

Seth chuckled. "I think I already knew that." he smirked. Kori rolled her eyes at him before peaking in the basket to see what else was in there. Several different kinds of sandwiches, some kind of buttered noodles, a large bowl of fruit, chocolate chip cookies, and a bag of chips.

"Who cooked all this?" Kori asked curiously as she looked back up at him.

"What makes you think I didn't cook it?" Seth asked with a smirk.

Kori raised a single eyebrow. "Um, because I was in your cooking class in eighth grade."

"Hey, I know it said 360 minutes on that recipe." he defended himself.

"Right, and that's why everyone else in the whole class cooked it for fifteen minutes at 360 _degrees_." Kori responded with a teasing smile.

Seth sighed and hung his head. "Okay, okay, fine. Emily cooked it." he admitted.

Kori ruffled the spiky, wet hair on the top of his head, pressing a kiss there. Seth lifted his head and smiled back at her before grabbing a strawberry off the plate. He held it out to her.

Kori eyed it with a smile. "I can feed myself, you know." she spoke lightly, her brown eyes twinkling.

Seth shrugged. "Where's the fun in that?" he responded in the same tone.

Kori shook her head in amusement before leaning forward and taking a large bite of the chocolaty strawberry, her teeth slicing through the soft fruit easily and making the chocolate crumble. She leaned back and covered her mouth with her hand as she chewed with a smile, her face bright red. When she glanced up at Seth, he was watching her intently, his eyes nearly black. His gaze made her whole body heat up. Kori pulled her hand away as she swallowed her mouthful.

Seth's eyes snapped to her lips before he suddenly leaned forward, crashing his lips to hers. Their lips moved together passionately, and Kori wound her arms around his neck as he leaned over her, making her fall back on the blanket. Seth hovered over her with his hands on either side of her head.

When it became harder to breathe Seth pulled away, both of them gasping for breath. Seth's lips traveled across her cheek, down her neck, and over her shoulder. Kori couldn't help whimpering at the sensation his soft, warm lips made against her skin. Seth's warm breath brushed over her skin as he chuckled.

He moved his lips back to hers, kissing her slowly this time as one hand traveled down her bare side to rest on her hip. He squeezed her hip, making her whole body twitch.

Seth slowly pulled away, panting heavily as he looked down at her face.

Kori's eyes stayed close, her cheeks flushed, lips red, and hair scrunched up under her head on the blanket. She finally opened her eyes and stared up at him.

Seth licked his lips briefly as he stared back down at her.

"Your lips taste like chocolate." he finally said with a small smile.

Kori licked her lips as she smiled, a breathy laugh breaking from her mouth.

"I think you took care of that."

Seth groaned and closed his eyes. "We should, um, probably eat before the food gets, uh, cold." he finally spoke as he pushed himself up to sit back. Then, both his hands took Kori's two hands, pulling her up to sit.

They ate the large dinner Emily had made. While eating the noodles Seth watched Kori slurp the noodles a few at a time.

"What?" she asked after a moment.

Seth smirked. "Just tempted to pull a _Lady and the Tramp_ move."

Kori looked confused so he nodded at the small plate of spaghetti noodles she was eating. Then Kori remembered the spaghetti scene from the _Lady and the Tramp_ movie where they kissed. She blushed making Seth's smirk grow.

"Yeah, but that would be cliché." was all she managed to say.

When they finished eating everything Kori flopped down on her back with a loud sigh.

"Full?" Seth asked as he laid down next to her.

"As full as a wolf can get." she answered before scooting closer to him, laying her head on his shoulder and draping her arm over his stomach. Seth slipped his arm around her back and pulled her flush to his side, his rough fingertips brushing across the small of her back.

"Anything else you want to do before the night's over?" Seth asked quietly, as if afraid to disturb the peaceful silence of the growing darkness.

Kori thought about it. "Well, I know we probably should do something, but honestly, I'm happy to just stay here like this for a while." she answered as she cuddled closer to his warm body.

Seth buried his nose in her hair, breathing deeply before he spoke. "Whatever you want." he murmured contently.

So that's what they did. They didn't talk much, only speaking occasionally, but words were unnecessary. They simply enjoyed each others warmth and company as they gazed up at the stars in the dark navy sky above.

Eventually, however, it was time for Seth to take Kori home. So they both got redressed and he walked her back to her house with her hand in one of his while his free hand carried the picnic basket, the blanket inside.

When they reached Kori's front door Seth placed the basket down and looked down at her.

"So, how'd I do?" he asked teasingly, but a nervous light twinkled in his eyes.

Kori smiled gently and took both his hands in her own.

"Best night ever." she whispered.

Seth let out a long breath he was holding. "Really?" he asked quietly, his eyes uncertain.

Kori laughed gently at him. "Yes, Seth. I loved all of it."

"Even though we didn't do much?" he checked.

Kori rolled her eyes. "Seth, you should know me well enough by now to know I don't need a big, fancy date. I'd be perfectly happy just cuddling on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in front of a movie. As long as I get to spend time with you, I don't care what we do."

Seth visibly relaxed and smiled in relief.

Kori smiled back and leaned forward, planning to kiss him, when the front door swung open, light flooding from the open door across them with a large silhouette blocking part of it.

"It's 11:00. Get inside." Jake ordered.

Kori glanced at Seth before looking pleadingly up at Jake. "2 more minutes?" she begged.

Jake thought for a moment. "Thirty seconds" he said before he closed the door.

Kori sighed and looked back at Seth, her keen eyes quickly readjusting to the darkness.

"Brothers." she grumbled. Seth chuckled before his hands moved to her waist, pulling her against him. Kori couldn't help giggling as she blushed.

"I'll see you tomorrow." he whispered, their faces only inches apart.

"Why not tonight?" she asked innocently, batting her eyes up at him sweetly. Seth hadn't spent the night in her room since the night before the Newborn battle.

Seth bit his lip as he breathed deeply through his nose. Finally he smiled.

"Alright. I'll stop at home quick to make an appearance and then be back here by midnight. Leave your window open." he whispered, aware that Jake could be listening.

Kori nodded slightly. "I will." she whispered back.

Seth lowered his head until their lips barely brushed.

The front door swung open before much more could happen and Jake yanked Kori into the house. Kori barely had time to yell, "Night Seth!" before her brother shut the door.

"Was that really necessary?" Kori whined.

Jake smirked teasingly down at her. "Just playing the protective big brother role." he answered as he headed toward his room.

"You could tone it down a notch." Kori retorted as she followed him, pausing by her door.

Jake looked at her over his shoulder. "Where's the fun in that?" he joked before he went into his room.

Kori shook her head, a smile appearing on her face.


	20. Running away

Chapter 20

Running away

Kori sighed loudly as she plopped down on the couch in their living room, her limbs feeling like jelly. She didn't mind patrolling, just that combined with getting up early for school and staying up late either with wolf business or hanging out with Seth, it was draining. At least they weren't patrolling as much as they were before, when Victoria was alive; it had been a few weeks since the battle that killed her.

A loud pounding on the front door echoed painfully in Kori's sensitive ears, making her groan. She forced herself to get off the couch and walked to the front door, opening it slowly.

Liz was standing before her, breathing heavily with watery eyes and looking angry.

"Liz?" Kori asked, not sure what was going on.

"Tell me he lied." she practically begged.

"What?" Kori was completely thrown off.

"Embry. Tell me he lied. People do not just turn into giant freaking wolves."

Realization dawned on Kori and she sighed, opening the door wider and stepping aside, gesturing for Liz to come in. She then lead her friend over to the couch, the two sitting beside each other.

"What happened?" Kori asked gently.

Liz swallowed. "We were on the beach, and he seemed upset about something. So I asked him about it. He sat me down on the log and asked if I'd ever heard the Quileute legends. I told him of course I had. My mom used to tell me them all the time growing up, but I haven't heard them since she died. My dad refuses to tell them because he doesn't want to 'fill my head with childish nonsense'. I told Embry how, when I was little, I use to wish the legends were real. Then, he told me they were. And that him, you, Leah, and all the guys turned into wolves to protect the reservation from vampires. I can't believe he would hurt me like that! I had just told him something I never told anyone, and he just threw it in my face, basically making fun of me! How sick can someone get?"

Liz looked up at Kori waiting for her to agree with her, but she didn't. Kori looked at her emotionlessly.

"What did you say back to him?" Kori asked quietly.

Liz blinked in mild surprise at the question and looked at the floor as she answered, "I told him that he was sick and a jerk, playing with my emotions like that. And I told him to leave me alone and not talk to me ever again."

Kori flinched, knowing Embry had to be in agony at that moment. He'd probably wolfed out right after she said that, so most of the pack would probably know soon.

"Liz…Embry wasn't lying to you." Kori said slowly. Liz looked up at her.

"What do you mean?" she breathed fearfully.

Kori swallowed. "You've said so yourself, Liz, something's up with all of us, but it's not like everyone on the rez thinks. We're not on drugs, or a cult, or anything like that. We're a pack. A wolf pack."

Liz shook her head. "That's not possible." she whispered.

Kori sighed patiently before lifting her hand, holding it so her open palm faced Liz. "Feel my hand."

Liz looked confused but slowly lifted her own hand and they touched palms. Liz's eyes widened in shock and confusion.

Kori pulled her hand back and rested it on her lap. "I run a body temperature of about 108. If you don't believe me I'd be happy to get out a thermometer."

"But…you should be dead! That's not possible!" Liz exclaimed.

"Shape shifters, which is what we technically are, run a higher body temperature than humans. We're also stronger, faster, and have a higher metabolism, note the larger appetites."

Liz shook her head, but more in amazement now. "But…why you guys?"

Kori narrowed her eyes slightly and tilted her head. "How much did Em even explain to you? It certainly doesn't seem like he did at all."

Liz looked down sheepishly. "I didn't really give him much of a chance."

Kori nodded in understanding. "Well, only three bloodlines carry the shape shifting gene. The Uley, Black, and Ateara bloodlines. Also, Leah and I are the only she-wolves in recorded history. She phased first and I phased a couple days after her."

"So, is this why you all missed school for a while?"

"Yeah, we couldn't risk going to school because anger triggers our phasing, so we had to learn how to control our emotions."

Liz nodded before her eyes flashed with realization and horror filled her eyes. "Oh my God." she breathed. "It's all true. Embry wasn't lying to me at all, and I…I just yelled at him to leave me alone."

"What did he do after you told him that?" Kori asked urgently.

"He…I turned and walked away and I saw him run into the woods." another thought crossed Liz's mind, "I heard a wolf howl right afterwards…" she murmured. She jumped to her feet. "I have to talk to him. I have to apologize to him, right now."

"Alright, hold on. You don't even know where he is. He could almost be in Canada right now." Kori reasoned.

Liz's eyes widened. "That far?"

Kori nodded. "Yeah, we're fast. We can reach over a hundred miles per hour." she answered as she grabbed her cell phone off the coffee table. She dialed Embry's number and waited. When she got the answering machine she growled. Great. He wolfed out AND lost his phone. "I'm gonna call Emily's. Maybe someone's there." she said out loud to Liz as she dialed Emily's house phone.

After a couple rings someone picked up. "Hello?" Emily asked into the phone.

"Hey Emily, Embry's not there by any chance, is he?" she asked hopefully, already knowing the answer. He'd most likely not be able to phase back for a while.

"No, but something's going on with him, I guess. Jared came in after his patrol about ten minutes ago and said something about Embry I didn't catch, and Sam had to go out to talk to him or something."

Kori glanced at Liz before looking forward again. "Are any pack members at your place right now?"

"Yeah. Jared and Brady."

"Great. Can you ask one of them to go out and tell Embry he needs to call me or something. Tell him I'm with Liz and she wants to talk to him."

"_Jared, did you hear that?…Great thank you. _Jared's on his way out. I'm not sure how long it'll take before Embry can call you back."

"That's fine, thank you Emily. See you tomorrow." Kori said as she hung up. She turned to Liz, who was sitting on the couch beside her, watching her anxiously.

"Jared's going to tell Embry what I said, so with luck he'll be able to phase back to call me. But can you do me a favor?" Liz nodded. "When he talks to you again, can you try to keep an open mind with what he tells you? There's going to be a lot more stuff he's going to tell you, and he might not be able to take it if you yell at him again."

"I'll try."

They sat in tense silence on the couch, just staring at Kori's cell phone as it sat on the coffee table. After about fifteen minutes, which felt like an hour, Kori's phone rang. Kori lurched forward and snagged her phone. It was Emily's house. Kori clicked 'Talk' and held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi." Embry's low, rough voice spoke into the phone. "Is Liz with you?" his voice changed on that sentence, sounding nervous and yet desperate.

"Yeah, she's sitting right next to me. I explained the wolf stuff to her and she feels really bad about yelling at you."

"Really?" Embry breathed into the phone.

"Yeah, but I get the feeling there's other stuff you need to tell her?" Kori guessed.

Embry got what she meant easily. "Yeah. How do you think she'll take…that?"

Kori glanced over at Liz. "She's promised to keep an open mind about whatever you need to tell her. Just be gentle with everything. You'll know what to do Embry." she whispered the last sentence gently.

Embry sighed. "Thanks…Can you tell her to meet me at the beach where we just were? Maybe in about fifteen minutes?"

Kori turned to Liz again. "Can you meet him at the beach where you just were in about fifteen minutes?" Liz nodded vigorously. "Yeah, she'll be there." Kori said to Embry.

"Great. And Kori…thanks."

Kori smiled. "No problem Em. Bye."

"Bye." they both hung up and Kori placed her phone back on the coffee table.

"I'd better get going. Thanks Kori." Liz smiled as she headed for the door.

"No problem. And Liz?" Liz paused at the door and looked back at her. "Please don't hurt my brother."

Liz nodded before leaving.

Kori sighed loudly and flopped back on the couch, covering her eyes with her forearm. The sound of the back door opening and closing, followed by quiet footsteps were barely heard as a familiar scent made Kori lift her arm and look up. Seth was looking down at her, though his face was upside down from her perspective.

"Hey." he greeted her quietly as he looked down at her.

"Hi." she smiled up at him.

Seth knelt down on the floor and folded his arms atop the arm of the couch just above Kori's head.

"How are you doing?" he asked gently as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Good I guess. I really hope things work out with Liz and Embry. They've both been through a lot, and-" Kori was cut off by warm lips kissing her own upside-down, warm calloused fingers brushing her cheek.

When Seth pulled away just slightly his warm breath fanned over her face. "Kor, I asked how you were doing, not Liz and Embry."

Kori blushed and looked down so she couldn't meet his eyes. "Sorry." she murmured in embarrassment.

"You don't have to be sorry for caring about others, sweetheart. I was just asking how you were doing because I can tell you're tired. Even without the imprinting bond making me feel how tired you are, I can tell just by looking at you." Seth smiled gently as he tilted her chin up with one hand and kissed her upside-down again.

Kori smiled when he pulled away. "I'm better now." she answered teasingly, making Seth chuckle in amusement. Then, Kori's mouth stretched wide with a yawn, her eyes squeezing close because of the action.

She felt the couch cushions shift and peaked her eyes open. Seth scooted her over as he laid down on the couch, nestling her between the back of the couch and his body, holding her close with his arm around her back. She smiled in bliss as she laid her head down on his chest.

His lips brushed over her hair gently. "Get some sleep baby." he murmured.

XXX

A couple weeks later Kori was sprawled out on the sofa reading a book for her English class that she had to finish before school got out, which was less than two weeks away. She was finding it hard to focus with Jake loudly rummaging through the fridge in the kitchen, and the rain pattering on the roof outside. Since both were regular occurrences, you'd think she'd be used to them enough to ignore them. Sadly, however, she couldn't.

Kori glanced up at the front door when she heard footsteps, followed by the sound of the mail box being opened and closed.

"Kori, can you get that?" Jake called from the kitchen. Kori rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Sure thing, Jakey." she called as she stood and walked to the front door. She opened it and grabbed the mail from the mailbox that was on the wall quickly before shutting the door. She flipped through the few letters as she headed toward the kitchen. Most of it was for their dad, but she saw one letter that was for Jake.

"Hey, Jake, there's one for you." she said as she put the others on the table and handed the one to her brother.

He took it and looked at it as Kori grabbed an apple off the counter. He looked confused.

"It's from the Cullens." he said in confusion. Kori narrowed her eyes and put the apple back down, beyond curious as to why her brother would be getting mail from the Cullens of all people.

Their dad wheeled his way in as Jake started ripping the envelope open.

"What's going on?" Billy asked curiously.

"Jake got a letter from the Cullens." Kori answered without taking her eyes off her brother.

He pulled out a letter and as he read it his eyes darkened in anger and his body began to convulse with violent tremors.

"Jake, what is it?" Kori asked worriedly as her father said, "Jacob, you need to calm down."

Jake ignored them both and raced out the door and into the rain.

"Jake!"

"Jacob!"

Billy stopped his chair on the ramp outside, Kori stopped just behind him in the doorway.

"Dad, what happened?" Kori asked worriedly as her father picked up the wet paper Jake had dropped.

Billy sighed as he read it over. He turned and wheeled himself back inside, handing it to his daughter as he passed. Kori looked it over and anger filled her as well.

It was a wedding invitation to Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's wedding in a couple months.

Kori growled and crushed the paper in her fist as her body began shaking.

"Kori, you need to calm down. Your brother needs you right now." her dad's voice broke through the rage-filled fog that filled her mind and she looked over at him.

"I know. I'm going to go try and talk to him."

With that Kori threw the paper to the floor, ran out the door, stripped in the woods, and phased.

She was immediately met with the sounds of her pack brothers' voices.

_ "Dude, it's going to be okay, but you've gotta slow down." - _Quil

_ "Yeah, running away's not going to help anything, Jake." - _Embry

_ "Easy for you guys." _Jake growled at them.

_ "Dude, what did you expect? She's the leech lover. Of course she was going to choose the corpse over you." _Paul stated harshly, earning a loud growl from Jake.

Kori could see from his thoughts that he was running toward the Canadian border, with no intention of stopping anytime soon.

_ "Jake, man, everything will work out."_ Seth tried to reason with him, but nothing was getting through.

_ "Jacob Ephraim Black! You stop running right NOW!"_ Kori shouted as she pounded after him. _"Bella is selfish, you should know that by now. She enjoys using everyone else to get what she wants, including you. She never felt that way towards you and it seems everyone knew it except _you_!"_

_ "Kori!" _Sam shouted, making everyone cringe. No one had noticed he phased in since they were all too focused on following Jake. _"That's enough out of all of you. Leave Jake alone."_

_ "But Sam!"_

_ "He's going to leave!"_

_ "But-"_

_ "We can't just-"_

_ "SILENCE!"_

Everyone fell silent, not being able to disobey the Alpha Command.

_ "Jake needs some time alone to think. He'll come back when he's ready. He's going through a lot right now. Just give him some space."_

Kori wanted to argue. She wanted to scream and howl and fight to keep her brother safe at home. But she couldn't due to Sam's Alpha Command. All she could do was listen as Jake's thoughts faded away the farther he got from his pack.

She could tell her other pack brothers were watching her thoughts, seeing what she was thinking and waiting for her to react somehow.

A sob choked out of her throat, sounding like she was hacking in her wolf form.

She turned and raced back the way she'd come, ignoring the others as they called after her.

When she neared the tree line behind her house she phased back on the run, falling to her knees right by where she'd left her clothes. They were wet and muddy from sitting on the soaked forest floor. But she was too drained to bother with them anyway.

She sat there, naked, on her hands and knees as she sobbed and shook, gooey mud covering her hands, knees, and feet; not feeling the ice-cold rain drops that hit her, or realizing the water evaporated off her skin, turning to steam.

Something soft covered her bare, wet body. And a strong, warm arm pulled her over, making her topple into someone's lap. Seth's familiar, musky scent overwhelmed her, making her tears come faster as she reached blindly for him, wrapping one arm around his neck as the other held the sweatshirt around herself. Seth's arms encircled her, holding her so close to his chest she found it hard to breath, but she didn't care. Air seemed unimportant in that moment.

All she could do was cling to Seth like a lifeline as she sobbed onto his chest. Seth didn't say anything, he didn't whisper lies to her, like how it would be alright. He simply held her, stroking her hair or rubbing her back, kissing her forehead once in a while. Eventually, Kori cried herself into a fitful sleep.


	21. Welcome Home

Chapter 21

Welcome Home

"Why are we watching this show again?"

Kori opened her eyes to look over at the sofa where Embry and Liz were sitting together. Kori herself was sitting on Seth's lap on the armchair, resting her head on his shoulder. They were all watching 'World's Dumbest Criminals' on TV, but Kori was more dozing off.

"Cause it's funny." Embry answered with a smirk.

"But they're stupid." Liz pointed out. "I mean, who in their right mind runs into a sliding glass door?"

"Who says they're in their right mind?" Kori asked with a small smirk, making Liz stick her tongue out at her.

School had been out for a couple days, meaning Jake had been gone for about two weeks, but Kori avoided thinking about him whenever possible, because it usually resulted in her crying. And Seth hated seeing her cry, so she tried to avoid it for his sake.

There was a knock on the front door, making Kori lift her head off Seth's shoulder, waiting for what she knew would come.

_ '1, 2,…'_

"Kori, can you get that?" her dad called from his bedroom.

Kori sighed and got off her boyfriend's lap. She shuffled her socked feet across the floor to the door. When she opened the door her mouth fell open, and then she shrieked.

Seth, Embry, and Liz ran out of the living room to see Kori hugging a young Quileute woman with long black hair wearing a denim jacket over a black tank top, skinny jeans, and black ankle boots. Kori was taller than her by at least four inches.

"Who is that?" Liz asked quietly as Seth and Embry visibly relaxed, both smiling warmly.

"That's Rachel Black, one of Kori and Jake's older sisters." Embry whispered in her ear, and Liz noticed the resemblance right away. She definitely had the same nose and smile as Kori, with the same eyes as Jake.

Kori pulled away from her sister and looked at her in amazement. "I can't believe it! What are you doing here? Why didn't you call or something?"

Rachel's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "What are you talking about? I called a few weeks ago and told dad."

Kori looked over her shoulder, having heard her dad wheel himself into the room a few seconds ago. She looked at him in confusion.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you your sister was staying here for a week after she graduated?" Billy asked, pretending to be thoughtful, "Hm, my mistake."

"Dad!" Kori shouted, though she couldn't really be angry. She was too happy her sister was home!

"Nice one dad." Rachel laughed as she moved around her sister to lean over and hug her father. When she pulled back she seemed to have just noticed the others in the room.

"Oh my God. Embry Call? Is that seriously you?"

Embry chuckled at her reaction and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Yep. It's me."

"You're freaking huge!" Rach exclaimed when she pulled away. "What happened to the scrawny beanpole that I used to baby-sit?"

"We didn't like him so we replaced him. Except this one stinks." Kori put in, smirking teasingly over at Embry, who glared at her.

"You need to quit hanging around Quil and Paul. They're bad influences on you." he retorted, trying to hide a smirk of his own.

"Anyway, Rach, this is my friend Liz and I'm sure you remember Seth." Kori continued.

Rach nodded kindly to Liz before looking at Seth. Her mouth fell open and she looked up at him exaggeratingly.

"Seth Clearwater? Seriously? Is there something in the water here?" she asked her dad, "Cause all the guys who used to be shorter than me are suddenly a foot taller."

Billy chuckled, only the wolves could sense his nervousness at the question.

Kori decided to rescue her dad from an awkward question. "Nope. They just hit a little thing called puberty."

Everyone burst out laughing while Billy gave her a reproachful look.

"Alright, alright. How about we get Rachel's things and put them in her old room?" Billy suggested.

Seth nudged Embry's elbow before saying, "Embry and I could get that, Billy. Give Kor and Rach a chance to catch up and talk with Liz, too."

"You guys don't have to do that all by yourselves." Rachel argued.

"How much do you have?" Kori asked curiously.

"Just a few bags in the back seat. The stuff in the trunk can stay for now."

"See? We can handle it. You girls relax." Seth urged.

"Alright." Kori shrugged as she lead her sister and friend to the living room to sit. As Rachel sat beside her she looked around curiously.

"Hey, where's Jake?"

Kori and Liz froze slightly and glanced nervously at each other. Rachel noticed.

"What? Where is he?" she asked anxiously.

"Um…" Kori tried to think of someway of wording the truth that would sate her sister. "Well, he's not here."

"Obviously." Rachel scoffed.

Kori rolled her eyes. She should've expected that with the answer she gave. "He's…Jake went on a trip."

"When's he coming back?" Rach asked worriedly.

"We're not sure." she answered quietly. "He left about two weeks ago, and we have limited options when it comes to communicating with him. He's going through a rough time right now, Rach. He just needed the space."

"Did something happen that I should know about?" Rach asked gently.

Kori thought for a moment before asking, "Do you remember Bella Swan?"

Rach looked surprised by this question. "Charlie's daughter? Yeah, I remember her. Why?"

"Well, she moved back about two years ago to live with her dad. Jake developed a huge crush on her. Then, long story short, her boyfriend abandoned her and she started using Jake to make herself feel better, making him fall in love with her in the process. Then her boyfriend came back and she ditched Jake to go back to him. And a few weeks ago Jake got their wedding invitation in the mail."

Rachel's mouth dropped open. "Does she know Jake has feelings for her?"

"No, she just asks all her friends to basically make out with her." Kori retorted sarcastically. Rachel's mouth dropped even further, if that was possible.

"So, because of all that, Jake basically ran away?" Rachel summed up.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Embry and Seth came in at that moment from Rachel's old room, probably done putting her things away. Seth sat on the couch on Kori's other side and Embry sat on the arm of the armchair, where Liz was sitting.

"So, besides everything with Jake, have I missed anything exciting while I was gone?" Rachel asked lightly.

Everyone thought for a while before Rachel sighed in exasperation.

"So, Seth, anything new with your family?" Rachel decided to narrow down the choices to help them out. "How's your parents and Leah?"

Kori flinched slightly and felt Seth stiffen. She glanced over at him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He squeezed hers back and took a deep breath.

"Um…my dad passed away from a heart attack a couple months ago." he murmured quietly.

Rach gasped quietly. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Seth. I had no idea." she whispered sadly, not knowing what else to say.

Seth attempted a sad smile, which broke Kori's heart to see. "It's fine. Other than that, we're doing fine. My mom became a member of the counsel in my dad's place, and Leah graduated this year, so that's good."

Rach nodded. "So, is Leah still with Sam?" she asked curiously.

Everyone grimaced, and Rachel looked at all of them.

"I'm guessing something happened there, too."

"Um, long story short, they…broke up, and now Sam's engaged to Emily Young…our cousin." Seth answered quietly.

"Don't you dare judge them." Kori pointed a finger at her sister upon seeing the shock flash in her eyes.

Rach blinked and looked down slightly. "Sorry. I'll try not to. How's Leah holding up?"

Seth rolled his eyes and Kori elbowed him in the ribs. He sighed. "She's turned into a bitter bi-" Kori elbowed him again, glaring at him. "Okay, okay. She's…well she obviously didn't take that well, and then when our dad died…she's just really angry all the time. If you see her at all while you're here, good luck seeing her smile or anything even close to that."

Rachel grimaced in sympathy. "Sorry to hear that." she cleared her throat after a moment. "So, anything else of significance that I should know about?"

"Someone got a boyfriend." Liz answered, looking teasingly at Kori, who blushed bright red and glared over at her.

"Kori Susanah Black, is there something I need to know?" Rach demanded, a smile spreading across her face.

Kori groaned and buried her face in her hands. Seth's warm hand brushed over her shoulder blades.

"So? Do I get a name or something?" Rachel urged, trying to get an answer.

Kori sighed loudly to show her distaste for the attention that was being forced on her.

"I'll give you a clue," she finally spoke, "He's in this room."

Rachel glanced up at Embry and he shook his head, mouthing, 'Not me! Not me!' Rachel smirked and looked over at Seth, who blushed and looked down under her knowing gaze.

"Well, well, well. Kori Black and Seth Clearwater a couple? What does dad think about that?" she asked teasingly.

Kori smirked as she remembered telling her dad that she and Seth were imprints. He'd gotten the biggest smile she'd ever seen on his face. Of course that memory was turned slightly bitter by the fact it was the same day she'd basically disowned Jake as her older brother. But she couldn't really tell Rachel any of that.

"Happy would be an understatement." she finally answered, earning laughs from everyone in the room.

"Sounds right." Rach agreed, knowing her father all too well.

As if by magic, Billy rolled into the room at that moment.

"So, are you five going to get ready?" he asked expectantly, a glint of teasing in his dark brown eyes.

The four teens and one young adult exchanged confused glances.

"What are you talking about, dad?" Kori finally asked.

"Did I forget to tell you that too?" Billy asked teasingly, meaning he knew all along. "There's going to be a welcome home/graduation party down on the beach for you, Rachel."

"Wait, that party's for Rachel?" Kori repeated in surprise. She'd heard a few people mention the party, she just thought it was another party. "Exactly how many people knew Rachel was coming home?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Billy looked up, acting thoughtful. "Well, there's me, Sue, Old Quil, Charlie, my sisters: Nora, Emmie, Jennie, and Connie; Sam, Emily, Tiffany Call, and Joy Ateara."

Everyone's mouths fell open. Embry was the first to speak.

"My mom knew? How'd you keep her quiet with a secret like that?" he exclaimed in shock. Everyone burst out laughing.

"Well, I'll just head home and get ready. I'll see you guys later." Liz said as she got up and headed for the door, Embry following right behind her.

"Yeah, I'm gonna head home, too. See you guys in a few hours." he said as he waved at everyone.

Right as they left the phone rang. Kori jumped over the back of the couch to reach it.

"Hello?" she asked into the phone.

"Hey." Paul's rough voice answered her. Kori's gut clenched.

"What's up?" she asked carefully, feeling Seth's eyes burning into her back.

Paul sucked in a breath before he answered. "Sam just got off his shift and he's home with Emily having their…alone time."

Kori shuddered. The whole pack, thanks to their mind link, knew exactly what that meant.

"Yeah?" she urged him on. Paul knew how miserable she was without Jake around, so he'd been trying anything he could to sneak away and contact him. Embry, Quil, and Seth had been trying the same thing. It got to the point Sam threatened that if one more person tried to contact Jake he was going to use the Alpha Command on everyone to stay at least fifty miles away from the Canadian border.

"That leaves me with about a forty-five minute window, maybe an hour if I'm lucky. I'm gonna see if I can make it close enough to the Canadian border to try and reach Jake's mind link. Any ideas as to what could convince him to come home?"

Kori thought for a moment before looking over her shoulder. Her dad, Seth, and Rachel were watching her, though her dad and sister were looking curious while Seth looked anxious, since he could actually hear what was being said on the other end of the line.

Kori turned back around with a smile. "Yeah. Tell him his big sister Rachel is home for a week, and if he doesn't get his tail in gear he won't be able to see her. And who knows when we'll get the chance to see her again?"

Paul was quiet for a moment. "Your sister's home? When did that happen?"

"Just a little bit ago, actually. My dad decided not to tell me." Kori answered as she turned and glared mockingly at her father, who simply shrugged innocently.

"Alright, that might work. I'll see what I can do."

"Alright. You coming to the party on the beach tonight? Apparently it's for Rachel."

"Yeah, I'll be there. I'll tell you what happens with your brother."

"Good luck. You'll need it."

"Tell me about it."

They both hung up and Kori turned back around.

"That was Paul. He's going to try and contact Jake." she answered quietly as she leaned back against the counter. Warm arms were around her instantly and she buried her face in Seth's warm chest, forcing the tears from falling. She couldn't cry. She refused to.

"You think he can do it?" Rachel asked curiously, sounding worried by her sister's reaction.

Kori shrugged, even though her sister probably couldn't see it past Seth. "I don't know. It depends on a lot of things."

"Like?" Rachel urged expectantly.

"For one, on whether or not Jake'll actually listen." Kori answered bitterly.

The room was silent for several moments, Seth's fast-beating heart calming Kori's nerves. Finally, Billy decided to break the silence.

"Well, you three better get ready. You've got a few hours to be ready for the party."

Seth leaned away slightly and rested his palm on Kori's cheek, looking deep into her eyes. "You going to be okay?" he whispered too quietly for anyone else to hear.

Kori smiled up at him and brought her own hand up to rest over his, running her thumb over the back. "Yeah. I'll see you in a few hours." she whispered before kissing his palm.

Seth smiled, gently kissed her forehead, and left. At that moment a car pulled up in front of the house and Sue Clearwater walked up to the house.

"Sue's here." Billy said as he wheeled himself to the door. "I'll be helping out setting everything up. Will you girls be okay getting there on your own?"

Rach put her hands on her hips. "Dad, I may have been gone for a while, but I think I remember how to get to First Beach, thank you very much."

Billy chuckled. "Okay, okay. Just checking. The party starts at six, so be there by then please."

"Yes dad." the two sisters answered in chorus, smirking at each other.

When their dad left Rach turned and began shoving Kori in the direction of her bedroom. Kori could've easily resisted, but she decided to humor herself and allow her sister to push her.

Both sisters took quick showers before meeting back up in Kori's bedroom to get ready. Kori was wearing sweats and an old T-shirt while looking through her nice clothes. Rachel was helping when there was a knock on the front door. They both answered to see Liz standing there was a couple plastic bags.

"I need help." she pleaded, holding up the bags, which Kori could tell were full of clothes and hair stuff.

Kori smirked and opened the door wider, leading her sister and best friend to her bedroom.

"I don't have a clue what to wear. I want to look nice, but I don't want to go overboard, you know?" she continued when she sat on Kori's bed, her bags sprawled out around her.

"Haven't you ever been to a beach party before?" Rach asked as she began looking through her own clothes.

"Of course I have. But this is different!" Liz insisted.

"How?" Kori asked with a small smile, even though she had an idea.

Liz blushed an looked at her lap, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Finally a single name came out as a whisper. "Embry."

Rach looked up in surprise. "Wait…Are you two a couple?"

Liz shook her head slowly, as if reluctant. "No…It's complicated. We've been friends for a while, but when we met I was in a relationship with someone else. After a while I broke up with my boyfriend, because it was a pretty…restricting relationship. Since then Embry and I've been getting even closer and now…well, a few weeks ago I promised I'd tell him when I was ready…For another relationship, I mean."

Kori's grin grew. "So tonight's the night?" she guessed happily. Liz blushed darker and nodded. Kori couldn't contain it any longer and squealed, rushing to hug her friend tightly.

"Okay, okay, calm down." Liz protested when Kori tackled her on the bed. They both sat up quickly. "Help me." she pleaded again, pointing to the bags of clothes.

"Okay. Okay." Kori peaked in a couple of the bags, trying to see if there was anything she knew Embry would like, but still something good to wear to the beach.

"And…what should I do with my hair?" Liz asked weakly as she picked at a section of her long, black hair.

Kori looked at her hair, examining it for a moment. "Do you have the stuff you'll need for the beach waves-hair you sometimes do?"

Liz thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Why?"

Kori smirked teasingly. "Because Embry _really_ likes your hair in beach waves."

Liz blushed. "He does?"

Kori nodded slowly. "Ooohh yeah."

"Wait-how would you know that?" Rachel asked, turning around to look at her sister, a pink top in her hands.

Kori smirked again. "I'm in the know."

Rach rolled her eyes and turned back around.

Kori and Liz met eyes and Liz pointed her own head, mouthing, 'Pack mind?'

Kori nodded.

XXX

"Alright. We're here." Rach announced as she parked her car. Kori and Liz climbed out of the back seat and looked across the beach, trying to find their wolves. Kori's eyes fell on a trio of familiar figures and her heartbeat picked up, making her tug self-consciously on the hem of her top.

Kori was wearing a loose white top that went off one shoulder and showed about an inch of her tan belly, with sleeves that went to her elbows. She was also wearing short jean shorts and black slip on Vans, and she had her hair natural with slight waves.

She saw the back of Seth's head raise slightly before he turned around at the same moment Embry turned and looked over at the trio of girls.

Kori heard Liz's heartbeat pick up. Embry's reaction was about the same as Seth's. Both their eyes widened while their jaws dropped. Seth looked Kori up and down, making her blush as she looked at the ground, following her sister and friend down the beach to them.

"I swear you two are like sisters." Kori looked up and looked at Rachel in confusion. She was looking over her shoulder between Liz and Kori. The two friends glanced at each other, mirroring their confusion. "The way you two react to being checked out by boys, it's like you've never been looked at like that before." Rachel explained.

Both friends blushed.

"Well, I haven't." Kori mumbled, hoping her sister didn't hear her.

"I have, but it's different with Embry." Liz whispered. Kori saw Embry smile slightly, and she knew he heard.

Kori met Seth's eyes and couldn't stand it any longer. She picked up her pace and ran down the beach to him, leaping into his arms and burying her face in the crook of his neck. His nose nuzzled into her hair, his warm breath brushing over her neck.

"I missed you." he breathed into her ear, making her shudder.

"Missed you too." she whispered back, breathing in his scent like oxygen.

"You're so beautiful." he whispered, his hands rubbing her back, spreading burning heat where they touched.

"Dude! That's my cousin! Get a room!" Collin protested, reminding Kori that they weren't alone. She pulled away slowly, her cheeks on fire. Liz, Rachel, Embry, and Collin were all staring at the couple in amusement, while Collin was also pretending to be disgusted.

"Aw, you two are so cute!" Rachel teased, earning a few laughs from everyone else.

"Rachel!" everyone looked over to see Billy waving her over. He was standing with Sue, Leah, and Emily by a large table of food.

"I'll have to catch up with you guys later." Rach said as she walked off.

"Yeah, we'll talk to you guys later, too." Embry added as he took Liz's hand and walked toward the water.

"Wow, okay. Everyone just ditched us. Do we smell or something?" Collin asked rhetorically. Seth and Kori laughed at him.

"I don't know about us, but," Kori paused to sniff her little cousin, "when was the last time you took a shower, Col?" she asked as she plugged her nose. Collin stuck his tongue out at her.

"How old are you three?" a voice teased. Jared walked over to them with Kim and Quil, who was holding Claire.

"Kowi!" she yelled, reaching her arms out excitedly. Kori took Claire from Quil and hugged her close.

"Hi Claire-Bear! What have you been up to all day?" Kori asked happily.

"Qwilly and I pwayed tea pawty!" she squealed excitedly. Jared and Seth burst out laughing. Kim smacked Jared on the back of his head, but then hid her hand behind her back as she shook off the slight pain.

"Dude, seriously? Tea party? What-she was out of dress-up clothes?" Jared teased.

Kori half expected Quil to glare at him. Or at least stick his tongue out in some immature 'Quil' move. But he just shrugged and smiled at the little girl in her arms.

"Wow, you're such a whooped puppy." a new voice added.

"Puppy!" Claire squealed, looking around in search of a puppy.

Everyone looked up as Paul approached, wearing his signature sarcastic smirk, but it was strained.

Kori grew serious as a lump formed in her throat.

"Well?" she asked expectantly.

Paul looked at her and his façade dropped. He sighed and looked at the ground between his bare feet. "Don't be surprise if the next time you try to head to Canada you find that you physically can't."

Kori's heart sank into her stomach. "Sam used the Alpha Command." it was a statement, not a question.

Paul nodded slowly. "Yeah. I was almost there, I could just hear Jake's thoughts, when Sam phased in, saw what I was doing, and Alpha Commanded me, and everyone else, to stay away from the Canadian border. I'm sorry, Kor, I really did try."

Kori swallowed. "It's-It's fine. You did what you could. Thank you, for that, Paul."

Quil took Claire from her and Seth pulled her into his chest. Kori breathed deeply a few times, trying to control herself.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

Kori pulled away and wiped her face in case any tears managed to fall before she crossed her arms and smiled at her older sister.

"Yeah, we're fine. What'd dad want?" Kori asked, forcing a little curiosity into her voice.

Rachel looked over her face for a moment before answering, "He just wanted me to talk to Sue and Leah for a bit and introduce me to Emily. For the record, being in the same space as Leah and Emily is a little awkward. You weren't kidding, Seth."

Seth shrugged with an apologetic smile.

"Oh, Rach, these are some of our friends. You should obviously remember our cousin Collin." Kori began introductions.

"Yea, of course. And seriously?! Again with people being taller than me!" Rachel complained lightly as she hugged her younger cousin. Kori rolled her eyes while the guys all chuckled to themselves.

"Hey Rach! My mom really wants to talk to you soon." Collin said happily as they pulled away.

"Yeah, I'll have to talk to her tonight or something." Rachel agreed.

"Anyway, this is Jared and Kim." Kori continued, gesturing to the couple, who greeted Rachel with waves and quiet 'hi's. "And I'm sure you remember Quil."

"Yeah, Quil's kinda hard to forget." Rachel teased. "And who's this?" she asked, smiling at the little girl in Quil's arms. Claire smiled shyly up at her before burying her face in Quil's shoulder.

"This is Claire Young, Emily's niece." he answered, smiling warmly down at her. "I tend to baby-sit her a lot."

"And, finally, this is Paul." Kori finished with a smile.

Rachel turned to greet the last person in the group…and the whole world stopped.

Kori looked between her sister and pack brother. They were staring at each other, eyes wide, mouths open. Kori had seen that look before. Quil looked at Claire like that for the first time a few weeks ago. Seth looked at Kori like that, and she knew she looked at Seth like that, too.

Paul Lahote imprinted on Rachel Black!

Rachel blinked and snapped out of her trance-like state. She cleared her throat and smiled.

"So, you're the Paul that called our house a few hours ago?" she checked.

Paul closed his mouth and nodded slowly, unable to say anything for once.

"Kori talks about you a lot. I also heard how you helped her a lot. Thank you for that." Rachel added gratefully.

Paul's cheeks darkened. Jared had to do a double take. Yep. Paul Lahote _blushed_!

"Well, I'm gonna go around and see who else is here. I'll see you guys around." Rachel waved and smiled as she walked off down the beach.

Everyone watched her walk off before turning to look at Paul. He was staring after her, his eyes full of love, shock, and amazement. Seth looked beside him and looked at Kori's face.

Her eyes were wide and she was staring at Paul in complete shock.

"Dude!" Jared finally burst. "I can't believe it! You imprinted! On Rachel Black no less! Imagine what Jake's gonna do to you when he comes home!"

"Forget Jake." Quil spoke up, looking over at his pack sister. "What's Kori going to do?"

Jared, Kim, and Collin looked over at her before Paul managed to force his gaze away from Rach to Kori. Worry and apology immediately filled his dark brown eyes when he saw her face.

"Kori, I…I'm sorry I…you know we can't control it…" his voice trailed off, unable to find something to say.

"Is she mad, or what?" Jared asked curiously. Kori hadn't even blinked, just stared at Paul with the same expression.

Seth rubbed her back gently, his eyes fixed on her face, trying to figure out what she was feeling.

Kori finally blinked once. "You…imprinted…on my sister?" she finally whispered, her voice monotone, almost like a robot.

Paul swallowed and stuffed his fists in his jean-shorts pockets, bracing himself for her wrath before he nodded slowly.

Kori sucked in a deep breath through her nose, causing Seth to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her into his side.

"How do you feel about that?" Seth whispered, sick of not knowing how his imprint was feeling.

"I'm…not sure." she finally answered uncertainly.

"Mad? Happy? Worried about patrolling with Paul while he's thinking about your sister? Oh God! I have patrol with him tomorrow afternoon!" Collin exclaimed in horror and disgust. Most members of the pack hated patrolling with Paul, especially after he got finished with his latest…conquest with a girl from his class.

Kori sighed heavily, leaning on Seth for support. "Well…I don't know, I mean…Well, imprinting is the best thing to ever happen to me, and I'd love for my sister to have that, too."

"But I'm not good enough." Paul finished glumly, his shoulders slumping slightly.

Kori glared at him. "I did not say that, Paul."

"But it's true." he argued.

Kori rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty certain every wolf thinks that about their imprint at some point, right?" Jared, Quil, and Seth all nodded. "That doesn't make it true."

"But just look at her." Paul urged as he looked back across the beach, finding Rachel easily in the crowd talking to their Aunt Connie, Kevin's mom. "She's so…perfect. She could do way better than me."

Kori growled. "I think that every single day about Seth. But I also know that the imprint bond makes it so that you're equally good for each other, no matter what." she argued, feeling Seth tighten his grip on her waist. "But, there's one problem. Rachel's only staying here for a week and then she's leaving."

Paul's face dropped as he continued to watch his imprint through the crowd.

"Is there any way to get her to stay?" Jared asked worriedly, since his best friend clearly wasn't in the mood to ask the question.

Kori thought for a moment before her eyes seemed to light up. "I…think I've got a bit of a plan. It's not much, but it's just a thought."

Paul looked back at her, his eyes hopeful and worried at the same time.

Kori swallowed as she second-guessed her idea, but forced herself to voice it any way. "Well, obviously you want her to stay here, and I want her to stay here. It'd be nice to have my sister back at home and all. And I know you'd make her happy, being her imprint, but first you need to tell her everything. And I know my sister better than anyone except Becca, obviously. So…maybe I could help you with how to tell her?" Kori finished weakly in a question, unsure of how stupid her plan sounded.

Paul smiled in relief. "Really?" he breathed, "You'd help me?"

Kori smiled back at him and nodded. "Of course I would. She's my sister and you're my brother. I want you guys to be happy. Wait! That sounds weird. She's my sister and you're my pack brother…you get the point!" the group laughed at how flustered Kori was getting, even Paul relaxed as he laughed at her confused expression.

"Thanks Kor. So, any advice?" Paul asked, sounding surprisingly timid and nervous.

"Well, for one, lose the scaredy-cat front, cause Rach likes guys who are confident. And two…I think you should just focus on getting to know her and everything for at least today and tomorrow before you tell her everything. She's more likely to believe you if she knows you pretty well."

"Alright, so no talk about legends and wolves and stuff tonight and tomorrow." Paul summed up.

Kori nodded. "Yep."

Paul nodded slowly as he thought for a moment. Then he pulled himself up and sucked in a breath. "Alright. Well, I'll talk to you guys later." he smiled as he headed down the beach toward Rachel.

Quil laughed suddenly. "Wow. Of all the guys…and of all the girls he could've imprinted on! Man, I kinda can't wait 'til Jake hears about this."

Everyone laughed at that thought. Jake was going to freak out, that's for sure.

Music started playing from the large boom box down the beach and Jared lead Kim away to dance. The others headed out, leaving Kori and Seth alone.

Seth looked back down at her face, his arm still tight around her waist.

"How're you doing?" he asked gently.

Kori sighed, leaning the side of her head against his chest. "I don't know." she whispered. "I honestly hope everything works out between Paul and my sister. They could both use each other, you know?"

Seth nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Then, he took both her hands in his two hands, gently pulling her down the beach to where couples were dancing to the slow music. He turned Kori to face him, placing his hands on her hips while she wrapped hers around his neck.

Seth ducked his head and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "I love you." he breathed against her lips.

"Love you, too." she whispered.

XXX

Embry lead Liz down the beach to a couple rocks near the waters edge. They sat together side by side.

"You're really beautiful." he told her with a warm smile.

She was wearing a white, lacy spaghetti strapped dress that went to her knees with a blue denim jacket and golden-colored sandals. Her hair was in beach waves like Kori suggested.

"Thanks." she whispered back, her cheeks darkening with a blush.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Embry asked curiously. Liz had texted him saying that there was something important she wanted to tell him at the beach.

Liz looked at the sand below her feet, chewing her lip nervously. "Um…remember when we talked a couple weeks ago? About the whole wolf and imprinting thing?" Embry nodded. "And, you know how you said you'd wait until I was ready?"

Embry blinked in surprise before nodding slowly.

Liz swallowed the nervousness in her throat before lifting her head and meeting Embry's dark chocolate eyes with her own.

"I'm ready."

Embry's eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he registered what she said. Liz misunderstood his expression.

"Unless you changed your mind, which I totally understand, I mean what was I thinking? I don't know why-"

Liz was cut off by two scorching hot hands one either side of her face. A second later a set of warm, soft lips pressed firmly to hers. Instinctively, one of Liz's hands came up to rest on one of his wrists while her other hand went to the back of his neck.

It only lasted a few seconds, but it was probably the best few seconds of Liz's life. When Embry pulled away he looked down into Liz's eyes, his thumb stroking her cheek. Liz licked her lips and smiled happily up at him.

"So…does this make us a couple?" she asked quietly, almost afraid she was dreaming.

Embry chuckled breathily. "If you want that, then definitely."

Liz felt her eyes water as she snuggled into his chest, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"You wanna dance?" Embry asked quietly, afraid to break the peace of the moment.

"With you? Absolutely." Liz whispered happily.

"Then up you go." Embry said, grabbing both Liz's hands to pull her to her feet. They walked down the beach happily hand in hand.

**XXX**

**Sorry this chapter took so much longer to put up than the others, but it's been a pretty hectic week with homecoming stuff, senior pictures, work, and the fact that this chapter was so long. Hopefully the length helped make up for its lateness. **

**Thank you for your patience wonderful readers!**


	22. I told her

Chapter 22

I told her

Kori sighed and stretched, arching her back forward.

A hand clutched her hip from around her back, holding her in place with a grunt. "Stop."

Kori peaked her eyes open, her brow furrowed in confusion. She was sleeping in her bed with Seth, one of her hands was tucked under her head on her pillow while her other one was in the air. She had arched her chest forward in her stretch…pressing her breasts into Seth's side…

Kori's eyes widened as she looked up at Seth's face. He was staring up at the ceiling, his lips pursed together tensely.

Kori gasped and scooted away so she wasn't touching him. "I'm so sorry!"

Seth looked nervously down at her and attempted a smile. "It's fine. That just…affected me." he admitted quietly, his cheeks darkening in a blush.

Kori blushed, too, before she groaned and turned over, away from her boyfriend, and buried her face in the pillow.

A warm arm slipped around her waist, pulling her back to a warm, solid chest. "Hey, don't do that." Seth murmured.

"I'm sorry." she mumbled into the pillow. Seth's warm breath washed over her neck and hair as he laughed quietly.

"I'm not upset. I really don't mind that you affect me like that, as long as you don't start doing that on purpose and in public. I don't need the whole pack out to get me." he teased.

Kori smiled into her pillow before she turned over and looked at him. "I'll try not to get you in trouble." she whispered lightly.

Seth smirked crookedly at her. "Thank you. Now,…you've tortured me already today…I think it's time to even out the score." he announced quietly, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly.

Kori's brows shot up before she tried to jump out of her bed. Seth caught her around the waist and pulled her back down, pinning her under him and holding her hands above her head with one of his. He trailed his free hand down her side lightly, making her squirm a little, before he began the tickle torture.

Kori laughed so hard tears trickled down her cheeks, her chest hurting from lack of air. Seth finally stopped, plopping down beside her. He was laughing quietly to himself. He was cut off by a loud growl from his stomach. They stopped laughing and looked down at his stomach.

"Looks like the wolf's hungry." Kori teased, wiping the stray tears off her cheek. A second later her own stomach growled, louder than Seth's. Seth smirked at her.

"Looks like the she-wolf's hungry." he said in the same tone, mocking her. Kori stuck her tongue out at him before rolling herself out of bed and standing up.

"You up for some breakfast? I'm in the mood for some eggs and bacon."

Seth smiled widely up at her. "Sounds good. Especially if you're cooking." he added cutely.

Kori rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that so you don't have to cook."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

Kori shook her head in amusement before heading for her bedroom door.

Seth came up behind her and lightly tickled her sides, making her squeak and hurry away from him, making him laugh as he hurried after her. They ran into the kitchen and Kori slid on the smooth wood floor and bumped into the wall, making the two of them laugh again.

They looked up and froze.

Working at the stove was Rachel, and sitting at the kitchen table just behind her was…Paul.

They were both watching the young teens with amusement in their eyes and small smiles on their faces.

Kori snapped out of her surprise and blurted, "What are you doing here?"

Paul chuckled. "I could ask Seth the same question."

"That's different, Seth's my boyfriend." Kori defended. She glanced between her sister and Paul. Rachel was wearing a black tank top and loose white, cotton shorts; her version of pajamas. Paul was wearing a pair of sweatpants cut into shorts.

Kori's eyes snapped wide. "Did you sleep here?!" she asked, well, demanded.

Paul glanced at Rachel before meeting her eyes, a small smile still on his face. "Yeah."

Kori's face changed to disgust. "You two didn't…_do _it, did you?"

Rachel's face darkened in a blush as she glared at her sister. "Kori! I've known him for barely a few days! Do you think I just give it out or something?"

Kori shrugged. "I don't know what you do! What am I supposed to think of him sleeping here?"

Paul growled quietly under his breath before he calmed down and looked over at her. "Kori, you would've heard us if something happened."

Kori shuddered and hid behind Seth. "I don't want to think about it." then a thought occurred to her. She peaked around Seth and looked at Paul. "Where exactly did you sleep last night?"

Paul exchanged a brief glance with her sister before looking back at her again. "I slept…in Rachel's room." he finally admitted.

"And nothing happened." Kori confirmed carefully.

Rachel sighed patiently before looking over at her sister. "For someone with super speed, you sure are slow."

Kori and Seth stiffened before glancing at each other, as if confirming they'd heard right.

Paul smirked at their reaction. "Yeah, I told her."

Kori glanced cautiously at her sister. "And…I'm guessing she took it…well?" she asked nervously.

Rach smirked at her. "I love how the big bad wolf is afraid of me."

Kori shrugged. "Well, you're a scary Red Riding Hood." she answered honestly, making everyone chuckle lightly despite the tension. "So…you're okay with everything?" Kori checked cautiously as she moved into the kitchen, flipping a pancake that was on the stove while Rachel was whipping some eggs.

"Well, I do wish my little brother or sister had told me that they turn into giant wolves to fight bloodsucking vampires, but Paul explained that you couldn't tell me."

"Sorry, Rach." Kori grimaced guiltily as she moved the pancake onto a large plate that already had three pancakes on it.

"It's fine. I mean, I understand that you couldn't tell me. It wasn't really your secret to tell." she reasoned as she moved to stand beside Kori at the stove, pouring the beaten eggs onto a frying pan. Seth took a seat at the kitchen table next to Paul, both watching their imprints while they cooked.

"Sooo…did he tell you about…imprinting?" Seth asked hesitantly.

Rach smiled gently over her shoulder at the two boys.

"Yeah he did." she answered quietly.

Kori pursed her lips and looked over at her sister as she flipped another pancake. "So, how'd you take that?" she asked casually, trying not to let her voice show how nervous she was.

Rachel paused in stirring the eggs around the pan. She sighed quietly before she spoke, watching the food instead of anyone in the room. "I…probably didn't take it very well at first. Especially when I found out I'm kinda…stuck here. But we talked and worked everything out."

"Really?" Kori asked in mild surprise, glancing between Paul and her sister.

Rach smiled lightly at her little sister, having to look up slightly since Kori was a few inches taller. "Yeah. We've decided I'm gonna stay here for at least the summer, and we'll try a relationship. If it works out, I'll stay home permanently, either live here or with Paul, and get a job."

"Really?" Kori asked eagerly. Rachel laughed at her reaction and nodded, making Kori nearly crush her in a hug.

When breakfast was finished the four ate together at the kitchen table, setting a plate of food aside for when Billy woke up.

**XXX**

** Authors Note: Sorry for a really short, crappy chapter, but I had a mild case of writers block for this chapter.**

** Anyway, I recently came up with an idea for a new character with her own background story. She'd be introduced sometime after Breaking Dawn and would also be related by blood to two pack members, but I'm not sure what I want to do with her exactly. Here are the choices I'm trying to decide between:**

** A. I could introduce her in **_**You Don't Have to be Alone**_** and somehow entwine bits and pieces of her story in this one.**

** B. I could introduce her in **_**You Don't Have to be Alone**_** and mention her once in a while. Then, after I've finished this story I could write another one just for her.**

** C. I could just forget this whole idea and continue like originally planned.**

** Please review and let me know what you think!**


	23. The Wedding

Chapter 23

The Wedding

"You look grumpy."

Kori lifted her head and glared up at her sister from over her cereal bowl.

"You would be too if you were going where I'm going this afternoon." she retorted, her voice a quiet grumble.

Rachel thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, today's the wedding, right?"

Kori nodded, her forehead furrowed grumpily. Then her face smoothed out and she looked hopefully up at her sister. "Are you _sure_ you don't want to come?" she pleaded.

Rach shook her head unsympathetically. "Sorry, sis, but I'm not coming for a couple reasons. For one, the idea of being in the company of vampires isn't as appealing as some might think. Also, I don't have a dress."

Kori rolled her eyes. "Not to mention, Paul would have a panic attack."

"That too."

Kori sighed and went back to eating her cereal.

Bella and Edward's wedding was this afternoon. Kori didn't want to go, as if that wasn't obvious, but her dad insisted they should go. He wanted to support Charlie, and he was making her go along as well. Seth made it up to her by asking her to be his date to the wedding since him, his mom, and Leah were also going. Leah was being forced to go like Kori.

A warm arm slipped around Kori's waist, momentarily distracting her from her brooding. A warm breath brushed across her cheek and ear, making her shiver, before a set of soft lips pressed to her cheek.

"What's wrong?" a familiar, husky voice whispered in her ear as he took the empty seat beside her. Kori didn't answer, just slouched into Seth's side, closing her eyes in contentment.

"She's not looking forward to the wedding this afternoon." Rachel explained for her.

A third person snorted. "Not too surprised there. I still can't believe Billy's actually making you go."

Kori opened her eyes and looked over at Paul, who was standing behind her sister with his arms around her hips and belly.

"He wants to support his best friend. Charlie's probably really stressed, I mean, his only daughter is getting married at eighteen. Any father would be stressed in his position. Billy's just helping him out by offering his moral support." Kori defended weakly.

Paul snorted again in response. "Right. So he's dragging his youngest daughter to the house of a vampire coven."

Seth rolled his eyes with a sigh. "You make it sound like she's walking into a lion's den."

"In several ways, she is." Paul answered.

"Well, it's not like she's alone." Seth nearly growled, his arms tightening around Kori's waist, "Leah and I will be there, too, along with Billy and my mom. Besides, it's not like the Cullens are going to hurt us."

"You clearly have more confidence in them than I do." Paul responded before taking a piece of toast off Rachel's plate and plopping it into his mouth.

The four went quiet, eating their food in a fairly comfortable silence.

Kori sighed heavily through her nose, her cheek resting on her fist with her elbow on the tabletop. She paused, her body going still as she slowly raised her head. She breathed in again, sniffing the air a few times. Her eyes widened as a familiar scent drifted to her nose. Her head snapped around to stare at the back door for a moment before she bolted toward it, throwing the door open to stare into her backyard. She felt her whole body sag a little and tears collect in her eyes as she breathed a single name.

"Jake."

Her brother was slowly walking toward the house from the woods, wearing a pair of cut off jean shorts that had been stashed in the bushes. His hair had grown out slightly to about chin length and was shaggy and disheveled. He also had stubble around his face and huge bags under his eyes. But when their eyes met his usual 'Jacob' smile spread across his face and his chocolate brown eyes grew warm.

Kori rushed forward until she was racing across the yard. After a couple seconds she flew into his arms, feeling him spin her around as she buried her face in his chest. Her arms wrapped tightly around his middle, his own nearly crushing her to him.

After a few moments she pulled back and looked up at him, but she didn't let him go.

"I can't believe you're finally home! Do you have any idea how horrible it was around here without you?! I was tempted to kill Bella Swan! Seth literally had to pin me down and Sam had to use the Alpha Command on me so I wouldn't go over to the Cullen's house and risk breaking the treaty!" Kori shouted.

Jake chuckled at her outburst, and Kori could hear three different laughs behind her coming from the house. Kori glanced over her shoulder at the back door before grabbing her brother's hand and dragging him toward the house.

Seth greeted him at the door and Kori noticed Paul hung back behind Rachel slightly, and Kori remembered what Jake was bound to find out in the very near future.

"Hey, man. Good to have you back." Seth said as he patted Jake's shoulder.

Jake breathed a quiet chuckle. "Yeah, feels weird to be back on two legs with clothes and everything, though."

Seth nodded. "I can imagine."

Rachel rushed forward then. "Jake!" she shouted happily as she jumped into his arms.

Jake barely caught her in his surprise. "Rach?" he asked in shock. "What're you doing home? How long have you been back?" he asked happily as he set his older sister back on the ground.

She smiled happily up at him. "I've been here for a few weeks now."

"Really? How long are you staying?" Jake asked happily, his grin lighting up his whole face. Kori couldn't help thinking that wasn't going to last too long.

Rachel pursed her lips and glanced at Kori slightly before looking back up at her brother. "At least the summer, to see how things work out here. Then, I'm thinking permanently."

Jake's eyes snapped wider in joyful surprise. "Seriously? That's great!" he exclaimed, picking Rachel up and swinging her around, making her laugh at his enthusiasm.

Paul chuckled at the two siblings before waving. "Hey dude. Good to have you back." he finally said when Jake set Rachel down. Jake looked up and his brows furrowed upon seeing his pack brother in his house.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion.

Paul shrugged nonchalantly. "Just got off patrol with Seth a bit ago so we came here for breakfast."

"So you came to _my_ house." Jake confirmed, still not understanding what was going on.

Paul pinched his lips into a thin line before glancing at Rachel and then Kori. Finally he said, "Well, your sisters are pretty good cooks."

Jake narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Emily's a good cook, too, dude. Why don't you eat there instead?"

"Jake!" Rach protested upon hearing her brother's rude tone.

Paul just stayed quiet, but he looked over at Rachel when he heard her scold Jake.

Jake's eyes narrowed again when he saw the look in Paul's eyes. His head snapped to stare at his older sister, who was the subject of Paul's gaze. Realization slowly started to sink in as he looked back and forth between the two. Seth instinctively pulled Kori back so she was slightly behind him.

Jake's fiery, dark gaze landed once again on Paul. "You didn't." he growled lowly.

Paul swallowed slightly as he met Jake's angry glare. "Jake, you know we don't choose who it happens with…"

"On my sister?!" Jake roared, his voice getting louder by the second as the heated shakes rolled through his muscles. Rach backed up a little so she was against the wall. Paul had warned her fiercely several times that if she saw one of them shaking that bad to get away from them.

"Jake calm down." Kori said carefully, not able to get closer to her brother because Seth's arm was blocking her.

Jake didn't seem to hear her as he stalked toward Paul, shoving him against a wall. "That is not happening. It's bad enough Kori got dragged into this life, but at least I can trust Seth. Now you had to go and ruin Rachel's life?! She could do way better than you! She _deserves_ better than you!"

Paul had listened quietly during Jake's rant, knowing nothing he said immediately would help, but the last few sentences made his head snap up, his eyes blazing. Kori could just barely see the raw agony buried deeply under the rage.

"You don't think I know that?!" he snarled. "I know she deserves better than me! I know I'm ruining her life! She's stuck here now because of _me_! That fact alone is already killing me, you don't have to rub it in!"

"Stop!" Rachel shouted, rushing to the two wolves and trying to shove Jake away from Paul. Kori pushed past Seth and helped her sister shove Jake back, in case he lost it and because there was no way Rachel could budge him without supernatural help.

"Jake, I get why you're unhappy, okay." Rachel started, her voice much calmer than the two guys', "But I'm actually glad it happened."

Four heads snapped to stare at her in shock. Kori couldn't tell who was the most surprised; Jake or Paul.

Rachel took a deep breath, and only the wolves could hear the slight shaking in that one breath. "Lets face it, Jake. You know why I didn't come back here while I was at college, you know why I left the day after I graduated. I honestly didn't want to come back at all, but when Becca called and told me Kori was having issues with family and school, I decided I needed to at least be here for a bit to see what was going on."

Kori blinked at that. She didn't know that was why Rachel came home. Paul smiled slightly. Kori knew he loved that Rachel cared a lot about her little sister, just like Rach loved that Paul cared for her like his own little sister.

"When Paul first told me about the whole imprinting thing, I'll admit, I wasn't too happy with the idea of being stuck here. But after about a week, I realized just how much I missed this place. Sure, there's lots of sad memories. Everywhere I look, I see something that makes me think of mom. But maybe I was wrong before. Maybe that isn't a bad thing. None of them are bad memories. I finally see that now. And I'm glad I gave it a chance."

Everyone was silent for a long few moments, Jake was staring at the floor.

Kori swallowed as she watched her brother. "Jake? If it's any consolation, if it weren't for Paul imprinting on Rach, you wouldn't have seen her. Who knows when she would've eventually come back? She was only planning on staying for a week, and that was, I don't know, a month ago? She would've been long gone by now without having even seen her little brother."

Jake took a deep breath, but it came out as a frustrated growl. After several moments of tense, awkward silence he spoke. "Fine, whatever. Just keep your thoughts to yourself, Lahote. I'm tired. See you guys later."

Jake pushed past everyone and headed to his bedroom, nearly slamming the door shut behind him.

Kori looked around at everyone still left in the room. "Well, that went well."

Rachel looked at her like she was crazy. "You're kidding, right?"

Kori shook her head honestly. "No, I'm not. The walls are all still intact."

Everyone couldn't help laughing in agreement.

XXX

"Is this really necessary?" Kori groaned with her eyes closed as her sister applied a little eye shadow to her eyes. Sure, she's a girl, but she hated make-up.

"I think Jake's had too much influence over you. You're more of a tomboy." Rachel commented as she finished up with the make-up.

"I disagree. If Jake had any influence over me, I'd be spending my spare time in his little 'Taj Mahal' out back instead of at the beach or in the woods." Kori pointed out as she opened her eyes.

Rachel stepped back and looked her over. "Yep, I think you're done. What do you think?"

Kori stood up and looked in the large mirror in her sister's bedroom.

She was wearing a green, lace dress with a dark green, thick belt around the waist, that went to just above her knees with sleeves that went just past her elbows.

Her black hair was natural, a couple inches past her chin with a slight wave.

The only make-up she'd allowed Rachel to put on her was light gray eye shadow with a little eyeliner.

Kori sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, lets get this over with."

Rachel and Kori left the room and went into the living room. Paul was sitting on the couch watching TV with Billy sitting in his wheelchair next to the couch. They glanced up when the two girls entered the room. Paul looked Kori over.

"That dress short enough for you?" he asked, his tone showing he didn't care for the dress's length.

Kori rolled her eyes. "I'm going to a wedding for the one person I hate more than anyone in the world, at the house of seven vampires, and you have a problem with my dress? With all the beautiful vampire chicks there I doubt any guys are going to look twice at me, thank you very much."

Paul snorted. "The wolf in me is strongly disagreeing with that statement about vampires being beautiful; but the brother in me really wants you to be right."

Rachel laughed as she sat down beside him on the couch. "Well, I can think of one boy who's not going to be able to take his eyes off her." she stated, wiggling her eyebrows at Kori teasingly. Kori blushed and looked away at anything but her sister.

"As long as he keeps his hands off her." Paul muttered, looking back at the TV.

There was a knock at the front door and Kori sighed in relief. Billy wheeled himself to the door and opened it.

Seth stepped inside and smiled at Billy. "Hey Billy. Everyone ready to go?"

Then he looked up and was rendered speechless, his mouth falling open as his eyes took in his girlfriend.

Kori blushed and shifted her feet nervously under his gaze. Was he going to react like that every time he saw her dressed up? Part of her hoped he would, while the other part wished he'd quit looking at her like that.

They were snapped out of their trance by the sound of someone knocking on a door. They hadn't realized Billy had wheeled himself to Jake's bedroom door.

"Jake, we're leaving for the wedding. You sure you don't want to come?" Billy's question was met with silence. Finally, Billy sighed and wheeled back to the living room where everyone else was.

"Well, lets get this show on the road." Billy said lightly as he lead the way out to Sue's minivan. Sue was in the driver's seat and Leah was in the second row. Paul lifted Billy into the front passenger seat while Seth put his wheelchair in the trunk. Then, Paul went back inside while Seth and Kori climbed into the back row.

The ride was nearly silent as they drove to the Cullen's home. It was almost a relief when they finally got there. Almost.

They followed the crowd around the house into the woods, where large benches were lined up with an isle between them leading up to a flower archway. Kori's mouth dropped open at the sight.

"This looks like a fairytale wedding." she muttered so only Seth could hear. He smiled and pulled her tight against his side with his arm around her waist. He leaned down slightly as they walked so his lips were right by her ear.

"If this is a fairytale…you're the princess." he whispered, his warm breath caressing her skin, making her shudder.

She tried not to smile, but couldn't help it. "That's so corny." she said through a light laugh.

"Corny, but true nonetheless." he answered, pressing a light kiss to her cheek before straightening up.

Carlisle greeted them with a warm smile.

"Thank you for coming. It's a pleasure to have you all here." he said as he and Billy shook hands. Kori knew it went against everything her father believed to be civil to the Cullens, but Carlisle did save his only son.

"It's our pleasure being here." Billy answered with a small smile. Sue simply offered a small, tight smile before she pushed Billy's wheelchair to the back row on the end. Seth had offered to push the chair for her, but she insisted on doing it herself.

Sue sat on the end by Billy, then Leah, Seth, and finally Kori.

After the wedding they sat at a small, round table among dozens of other, identical tables. Kori noticed that three beautiful blondes kept glancing over at her, Seth, and Leah. One in particular was glaring at them. Kori could smell them from across the floor. Vampire. Kori turned in her seat to slouch in it, her back to the leeches.

"Didn't know the Cullens invited friends." she muttered.

Seth scooted his chair so they were touching, his arm over the back of her chair.

"Kori, it's Edward's wedding. Of course they're going to invite their family. Emmett said those are their cousins from Denali. Aren't you going to invite your family to your wedding?"

Kori smiled slightly and a blush spread over her cheeks. She knew Seth meant the question as a way to prove a point, but it only got her thinking about _their_ wedding. What would it be like? How old would they be? Would theirs be as perfect as this one? Would her father be there to escort her down the isle? Who would be her bridesmaids?

Seth tilted his head slightly to get a better look at her face, waiting for a response of some kind. Kori looked up at him from the side with a small smile.

"You mean _our_ wedding?" she asked quietly.

Seth blinked as understanding sunk in, a huge smile spreading across his face. He leaned in and nuzzled her cheek with his nose.

"Our wedding." he murmured to himself, clearly loving the sound of those words together. Kori smiled at the warmth and adoration in his voice, leaning the side of her head against his forehead.

The sound of hurried footsteps coming toward them made the couple pull away and look up. Leah was approaching them, distress showing in her hurried footsteps if not her facial expression.

"Jake's here." was all she said before the three of them left the table and hurried around the house and out of sight.

Jake was yelling at Edward and Bella, and Kori just caught him shout, "Are you out of your mind?! You'll kill her!"

Seth ran forward and grabbed Jake, trying to pull him into the woods. "Just walk away, Jake!"

Jake threw Seth off, sending him flying backward several feet. Kori ran to help Seth stand up while Embry and Quil appeared from the trees, running to restrain their best friend.

Jake easily shook them off, but before he could attack the newly married couple, Sam appeared from the trees as well.

"Enough, Jacob."

Everyone's heads snapped around to stare at him. Jake shook his head defiantly.

"Stay out of this, Sam."

"You're not going to start something that we'll have to finish."

"She'll die." Jake said, the weakness in his voice made Kori cringe despite her hatred for Bella Swan.

"She's not our concern anymore."

Kori glanced at Seth and saw his eyes water slightly. He'd become pretty good friends with Bella, despite everything that had happened.

Jake turned his glare from his Alpha to Bella and Edward. There was a tense silence for several moments before he turned and stalked into the trees, slamming his shoulder into Sam's as he passed. Embry and Quil hurried to follow him, more out of loyalty than anything else.

Sam turned and follow them but paused and turned back for a moment. "Seth, Kori, lets go. Leah, keep an eye on Sue and Billy."

Kori and Seth looked over their shoulders at the newlyweds before following their pack brothers into the trees. The others phased once they were out of sight, but Kori didn't want to phase and have to deal with her brothers thoughts.

"Can we just walk back to my place?" she asked as she took Seth's hand in her own, pausing to take off her flats that she'd worn.

Seth nodded and held her hand firmly in his as they walked back home.

**XXX**

**I got very bored writing the wedding, so you guys can just watch it on the movie.**

**Link for Kori's dress: ** imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=571&tbm=isch&tbnid=1VHtmy-kF2sBBM:&imgrefurl= clothing/asos-skater-dress-in-lace-with-34-sleeve- green/&docid=dArhIMRQ9simsM&imgurl= photos/2013/02/01/asos-green-skater-dress-in-lace- with-34-sleeve-product-1-6294337-910804817_large_ &w=460&h=587&ei=LH5ZUtjlMKLWyQGa5oCwCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=319&vpy=72&dur=1016&hovh=254&hovw=199&tx=110&ty=149&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=109&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:88

**I also decided on what I'll do with the other character that I asked about in my Author's note last chapter. I'll probably introduce her in this story, but it will be after the **_**Breaking Dawn **_**part of the story. Then I'll mention her once in a while throughout the story, but not get too in depth. That way you'll have a reason to read my next story, which will be all about her. (Also, I probably won't be putting that story up until after this one) : ) **


	24. Two packs, One choice

Chapter 24

Two Packs, One choice

The next few weeks passed pretty uneventfully.

The whole pack was invited to Claire's third birthday party. There probably was never a little girl more spoiled than her. After getting presents from all her 'aunts' and 'uncles', it was a miracle all of it could fit in her room. The party was princess themed and she insisted Quil wear her princess tiara, and Emily suggested they try her play make-up out on Quil. When no one was watching, Kori took several pictures. It would be perfect blackmail material.

Kori tried to get out of the house as much as possible, too, during those few weeks. And the reason being one person. Jacob.

Her brother had been moping around like a depressed puppy, note the pun, ever since he found out Bella and Edward were going to 'do it' on their honeymoon. Everyone absolutely hated being on patrol with him because all he would think about was Bella. 'Is she dead?' 'Did he kill her?' 'What are they going to tell everyone afterwards?' 'Would it be better for her to be a leech or actually dead?'

It was driving everyone insane!

So one afternoon when Seth asked Kori if she wanted to go for a run into the mountains with him and Leah, she jumped at the chance. Anything to get away from La Push for a while.

Kori skipped out of her room and passed the kitchen before she skidded to a stop and stared. Charlie was sitting at her kitchen table with Billy.

"Hey kiddo. Where are you off to?" Charlie asked with a fake smile, his voice low and quiet like when he was upset.

"Hi Charlie. I'm just off to hang out with Seth and Leah. How're you doing?" she asked kindly, more out of politeness than anything else.

Charlie sighed and his smile dropped. "Not so good, honestly. I'm worried about Bella. Apparently she got some disease. She's pretty sick."

Every muscle in Kori's body froze. Disease? Was that the story they were going with? She sucked in a breath so she could say something.

"Oh. Well, don't worry Charlie. I'm sure she's fine. She's well taken care of." she said, offering a reassuring smile.

Charlie smiled back. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right. Just can't help worrying, you know? I'm a father, it's my job."

Kori laughed quietly. "Sure is. Well, I'm off. See you for dinner, dad."

The two men called out their goodbyes as Kori ran into the backyard. When she was sure she was out of sight she stripped and phased, running through the woods until she met up with Seth and Leah.

They spent a few hours just running through the mountains, Seth and Kori even roughhoused like puppies while Leah watched.

Suddenly a long, pained howl tore through the air and images flashed through the pack mind. They saw everything.

Bella. The Cullens. The…fetus.

Leah, Seth, and Kori threw their heads back and let their howls join the howls already sounding in the distance before they raced back to the reservation.

Every member of the pack was talking and shouting over each other, it was impossible to tell who was saying what.

The pack finally joined up at an old clearing left behind by some loggers, bounding over the piles of logs until they were all circling Jacob.

Their hackles were raised and their ears pinned flat to their heads. Their lips were pulled back in vicious snarls, displaying their fangs as growls and roars tore through their throats. Kori's head snapped around and she found herself actually a little frightened by her pack. No…by how they were acting. Hatred and disgust were rolling off them in waves. Kori subconsciously pressed her side against Seth's, both of them standing beside Jake as their pack brothers and sister circled them, grumbling their distaste for what the Cullens had bred.

_ "Enough!"_ all of them cowered slightly in surprise at Sam's outburst, turning to look up at him from where he was standing atop a pile of logs. _"We have to protect the tribe. What they've bred won't be able to control its thirst. Every human will be in danger."_

_ "We're ready!"_

_ "No time to waste!"_

_ "Now?" _Jake's voice held disbelief.

_ "We must destroy it before it's born!"_ Sam snarled, pulling his lips back to reveal his sharp, white fangs.

_ "You mean…kill Bella?" _Seth asked in pained surprise and Kori stepped closer to him, brushing the fur of her shoulder against his in support. Everyone knew Kori hated Bella with every fiber of her being, and the mean part would love for her life to end. But a baby? That's what this is about? So Bella's pregnant with a half vampire, half human baby, that's all it is. And the pack wanted to kill it?

_ "Her choice affects us all." _Sam continued.

_ "Bella's human. Our protection applies to her."_ Jake pointed out.

Leah snarled in his face, _"She's dying anyway!"_

Jake roared and lunged at her, knocking her down and going for the throat. Sam's loud roar broke the fight up and Jake back away, crouching in an attack position.

_ "We have real enemies to fight tonight." _Sam announced as he slowly made his way down the pile of logs.

_ "Tonight?"_ Jake repeated in disbelief. Seth whimpered and stepped closer to Jake, Kori following him like they were attached by a cord.

_ "You will fight with us."_ Sam's low, threatening order held the weight of the Alpha Command. The rest of the pack backed away from the three in the center and Seth and Kori whimpered as the weight began to literally crush them into submission, making them crouch down before their Alpha, their faces pressed to the mud.

Jake snarled at Sam as he fought the Command, but Sam continued forward until they were face to face, lips drawn back in vicious snarls, growls rumbling in their chests. Sam was standing straight and tall while Jake's head was bowed under the weight of the Alpha Command. Jake's head slowly lowered to the ground despite how much he wanted to fight it, snarls and whimpers both slipping through his teeth.

That's when Kori felt it. The whole pack felt it. The acceptance of a birthright.

Jacob Black had accepted his role as the rightful Alpha.

With a loud snarl, Jake forced himself to stand upright. "_I. Will. Not. I am the grandson of Ephraim Black. I am the grandson of a Chief. I wasn't born to follow you, or anyone else." _

He lunged forward, shouldering his way past Sam and the others as he bounded over the logs and into the woods. The whole pack watched at he disappeared over the hilltop. Everyone glanced nervously at Sam, who was glaring angrily after Jake, a snarl on his face.

Jared and Paul approached him and Sam immediately got to planning what they would do now, with the element of surprise clearly out of the question.

Kori glanced around herself, seeing that everyone's attention was on their Alpha and Beta. No one was watching her.

She backed away slowly until she was hidden by one of the smaller log piles. Then, she turned and trotted forward a few paces when she ran into something. Something furry.

She stepped back and lowered her head, thinking she was caught, but relaxed when she met Seth's eyes. She could see it in his thoughts that they were thinking the same thing. They were going to join Jake's pack.

Seth nodded once before the two raced into the woods away from their pack.

They headed towards the Cullens' mansion, following Jake's scent. They both noticed that the further they got from their pack the quieter the voices in their heads got.

They couldn't hear the pack anymore.

When they got closer to the Cullens' place they stopped to phase back, pulling their clothes on. Then they hurried over a little rise until they found Jake, who whipped around at the sound of footsteps. They walked up until they were at his side. Jake glanced at them before glancing around the trees behind them.

"Don't worry, they're not following us." Seth responded.

"What do you think you're doing here?"

Kori shrugged and answered for both of them, "We left Sam's pack."

"Go home, guys." Jake answered in an annoyed tone.

"I won't stand behind him." Seth argued.

"Oh yes you will." Jake answered. "Both of you will. I'm not kidding. Get out of here."

Seth and Kori glanced painfully at each other before Kori turned to her brother. "That an order, Jake? You gonna make us bow down, too?"

"I'm not ordering anyone." Jake answered quietly. "Look, I'm just going off on my own here, okay."

"Great. And we've got your back." Seth answered with a happy smile.

"No you don't!" Jake snapped. He thought a moment before continuing. "If Sam comes after Bella, are you really willing to fight your own brothers? Your sister?"

Kori's stomach clenched at the idea of fighting Paul, or Leah, or any of them.

"If it's the right thing to do." Seth answered quietly.

Jake's eyes narrowed before they snapped to stare at Kori. "And you?"

Kori swallowed the bile rising in her throat. "If I stayed with Sam, would you be able to fight me?" she asked quietly.

Jake took a deep, tense breath, trying to control himself. "You don't even like Bella. You hate her, why are you willing to fight to protect her?"

"I'm not. I'm here to protect the baby." Kori answered seriously, her tone showing her determination.

"What?" Jake asked in disgust. "Why do you want to protect that demon spawn? It's killing her!"

"It's not like it's doing it on purpose! It's a baby, it doesn't know what it's doing."

Jake met her eyes briefly before he looked away, back at the Cullens' house. "Whatever." he said harshly, "I'm gonna go give the Cullen's a heads up. Do what you want."

He turned and walked off through the trees. Seth and Kori glanced at each other, faces serious, before they smiled in victory. They turned and followed after their new Alpha.

"How cool is this? Three wolf pack. Three against the world."

"Getting on my nerves, Seth." Jake grumbled.

"I'll shut up. Can do." Seth answered lightly.

Kori laughed quietly as she followed the two boys.

When the house came into view Jake stopped and stared intensely at the house until Edward appeared at the large glass wall. They stared at each other for a few moments before Edward nodded, Jake must've been showing him what happened in his thoughts.

"Alright, they've been warned. Lets run the perimeter." Jake suggested as he turned away and walked into the cover of the trees.

Kori and Seth turned and went two different directions to do the same.

Nothing happened as they patrolled for the next few hours. It was night by the time the three of them met back up near the Cullen's place.

A rustle in the bushes several meters away made them turn, teeth bared, hackles raised.

_ "Good evening, rebels."_

Kori nearly choked on her next breath when she heard Leah's voice.

_ "Leah?!"_ they all repeated in shock.

_ "The one and only."_

_ "What are you doing here, Leah?"_ Jake snarled as he stepped to the front of the others. _"Spying for Sam, now?"_

Leah snorted. _"As if, Jakey. If I was still in Sam's pack, you wouldn't be able to hear me. Haven't you guys noticed that yet? You can't hear Sam's pack, and they can't hear you. My loyalty is to you now."_

Jake glanced back at Seth and Kori for a moment, all three listening carefully to see if she was right. She was. They couldn't hear any of the others. Jake turned and looked at Leah suspiciously.

_ "Why would you join us? You hate the Cullens."_

_ "I'm here to keep an eye on my little brother."_

_ "Leah, I can take care of myself!"_ Seth whined.

_ "That you think so just proves you need a babysitter."_

_ "Leah, get out of here and go back to Sam's pack." _Jake ordered.

Leah plopped down in a sitting position and tilted her head slightly. _"You want me to leave, you're going to have to _make _me leave."_

Jake groaned in annoyance. _"Leah, no one wants you here. So, beat it."_

_ "Being unwanted isn't exactly a new thing for me."_ she said quietly. Then, she shook her head before she straightened and met Jake's gaze. _"Besides, if I remember correctly _someone_ promised that if she left the pack, I could go with her."_

Jake and Seth turned to look at Kori, who looked at the ground under her paws.

_ "Seriously Kori?! We're stuck with her now because you had to be all buddy-buddy?!"_ Jake exclaimed.

_ "It was a long time ago, but she does have a point. Come on, Jake, think about it. With Leah in our pack, Sam's down another member."_

_ "This is not a pack! I went off on my own and you guys followed me! What is it with you guys and going where you're not wanted?!"_

_ "But, we've been a big help, haven't we?" _Seth asked quietly, a little offended that Jake didn't want them around.

_ "Yeah, I guess you two have, pup, but if you and Leah are a package deal, than can you blame me for not wanting you around?"_

_ "Leah, you ruin everything!"_ Seth groaned loudly.

_ "Yeah, I know."_

Kori winced at the pain in Leah's voice, as did Seth and Jake. She turned and looked up at her older brother.

_ "Come on, Jake, you've got to admit, having Leah on our side would be beneficial. We could patrol farther, and Sam has one less pack member, so they're less likely to attack now."_ she tried to reason with him, hoping he'd give in. Leah didn't deserve to be turned away and sent back to Sam's pack.

Jake growled at her, making her lower her head slightly to avoid making him angrier. Seth instinctively stepped up between them. Jake swung his head back to glare at Leah.

_ "What made you think I'd let you stay? I can't trust you with the Cullens. You hate them. You don't even like me."_

_ "I don't have to like you. I just have to follow you." _Leah answered, her voice uncharacteristically quiet, serious. Jake turned and looked into the trees, not sure what to think at the moment. Leah sighed impatiently. _"I'll stay out of your way."_ she promised quickly. _"I'll do whatever you want, except go back to Sam's pack and be the pathetic ex-girlfriend he can't get away from."_

Jake continued staring into the trees, thoughts racing through his mind with the speed of a vampire. No one dared say or think anything at the risk of interrupting him. After a few of the longest minutes Kori ever experienced, he sighed and started to walk off into the trees, the eyes of the three others glued to his back.

He stopped and looked over his shoulder, his gaze scanning the three of them.

_ "I'm gonna do a perimeter run." _he announced before fixing his eyes on Leah, _"You got my flank?"_

Leah's ears perked up in excitement and her tail wagged a couple times as she nodded her head once. Jake glanced at Seth and Kori.

_ "You two get some sleep. I want you up at dawn to take over, got it?"_

Seth and Kori nodded as Jake raced into the trees, Leah at his flank.

The two younger wolves phased back to human and pulled on their clothes, meeting back up near a larger tree near the edge of the trees at the back of the house.

They sat next to each other, leaning their backs back against the tree trunk. Seth slipped his arm around Kori's back and pulled her closer, so she just decided to lie down with her head in his lap.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, Seth's one hand playing with her hair with his other arm was draped over her stomach.

"How can you be so compassionate?" Seth asked quietly, breaking the silence.

Kori tilted her head to look up at him, meeting his warm, brown eyes with her own. "What do you mean?"

"Like with Leah. Jake and I pretty much just wanted her to leave. I'll admit, she gets really annoying. How do you put up with her?"

Kori looked into the treetops above Seth's head as she thought. "I don't know. I guess…I just feel bad for her, you know? I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be for her, after everything that's happened to her. And you have to admit, no one in the pack is really nice to her."

Seth sighed and leaned his head back against the trunk. "Yeah, well, she doesn't really make it easy to be nice to her."

"That may be true, but she's also been through hell. First, with what happened with Sam and Emily, then phasing and your dad. Cut her some slack, Seth. No one deserves that."

Seth was quiet for a moment before he leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. He pulled away just enough that his face hovered above hers.

"How did I get so lucky to have someone as amazing as you?" he whispered, a small, gentle smile on his face.

Kori smiled back at him. "Why do you always take every conversation we have and turn it into one of _those_ comments?"

Seth shrugged and leaned back against the tree trunk. "Just easy, I guess." he was quiet for a few moments before he spoke again, almost hesitantly. "Kori…what's going to happen if we have to…fight Sam's pack? Are you going to be able to?"

"Of course I am! Do you doubt my loyalty to this pack?" she asked, insulted.

Seth shook his head vigorously. "No! Of course not! I just…I know how close you are with Paul. Are you really willing to fight him? Or any of the others for that matter?"

Kori turned her head to the side, facing away from him as she felt a tear slip down her cheek. She didn't want to think about it. Would Paul still see her as his little sister? Or would he see her as the enemy now?

A warm, calloused hand came under her cheek, tilting her face up so Seth could see her face. His thumb wiped the tears away as his concerned eyes scanned her face and eyes.

"I'm sorry I upset you." he whispered quietly, "I didn't mean to, I'm just worried about you."

Kori offered a sad smile, holding his hand to her face. "I know. I just…I don't know what's going to happen, and that worries me. I guess I'll let Paul make that call. If it eventually comes to a fight or something, and Paul attacks me, then I'll fight."

Seth's dark brown eyes scanned over her face for a few moments before he sighed and pulled her body in closer to him, her head cradled in his arms on his lap. She soon faded into sleep to the sound of Seth's heartbeat.

**XXX**

**In reply to **_**Guest**_**'s question, no this is a character I made up a while ago, I'm still deciding if I should use the character you suggested. I'm not sure if I'll be able to yet.**


	25. Pack Meeting

Chapter 25

Pack Meeting

Seth, Leah, and Kori were sprinting through the forest, making their rounds quietly while Jake was doing something at the Cullens' place.

Seth suddenly skidded to a halt, his shoulders stiff and ears perked. Leah and Kori put on their breaks and followed his gaze, and thoughts. Footsteps were headed their way, several of them by the sound of it. Kori lifted her nose to the air, managing to catch the scent of wolves before her pack mates. She threw her head back to let out an alert howl.

They almost immediately felt Jake phase in as he hurried to get to them.

_ "What's up?"_ he asked tensely.

_ "Some of Sam's pack. Can't tell how many yet. They're headed this way."_ Seth answered hurried, his ears perked to catch any sound out there. Everyone knew he had the best hearing out of all of them, while Kori had the best sense of smell.

They felt the strange yet familiar sensation of shimmering in the air.

_ "Someone's phasing?"_ Seth guessed in confusion. What were they playing at?

Jake slowed to a trot and walked up to the point. Seth stepped up to Jake's right shoulder, Leah took his left a little less enthusiastically, and Kori moved to Seth's opposite flank, figuring the Clearwater's had seniority over her.

_ "So now I rank under Seth." _Leah grumbled.

_ "First come, first served," _Seth thought smugly, _"'sides, you were never an Alpha's Third before. Still an upgrade."_

"_Below my baby brother is _not _an upgrade."_

_ "At least you're something, I'm just a random member."_ Kori answered, not really caring what position she held. As long as she wasn't alone, she was fine with whatever she got.

_ "Enough, all of you." _Jake ordered as he stared into the trees, waiting for whoever was coming their way.

After a few moments Seth said, _"Three wolves, one man. Still can't tell who yet."_

_ "We'll see soon enough."_ Leah answered.

Like Leah said, after a few moments four figures stepped into their view. Jared was in the lead in human form with three large wolves behind him. Kori almost flinched when she saw who was standing before them. Paul, Quil, and Collin.

Was Sam _trying_ to hurt them by sending the three wolves that would have the largest impact on them? When Kori thought about it, she figured that's exactly what Sam was probably doing. He knew having Quil there, that might weaken Jake's resolve, as Paul would for Kori, and Collin for both of them being their younger cousin. But then why would he send Jared instead of Embry?

_ "Cause if he sent all of them, who would be around to stop any of them from joining this pack?"_ Leah asked rhetorically, answering Kori's thoughts, _"Jared's here to make sure no one else jumps ship."_

_ "Makes sense."_ Seth agreed.

Kori's eyes scanned over her former pack brothers. She didn't like not being able to hear what they were saying. They all had blank expressions. And Paul was pointedly looking away from her. She couldn't tell why, though. Did he hate her? Or was it too painful for him to see his little sister on the opposite side?

Jared cleared his throat and looked straight at Jake. "White flag of truce, Jake. We're here to talk."

_ "Think it's true?"_ Seth asked nervously.

_ "Makes sense, but…"_

_ "Yeah,…but." _Leah agreed with Jake's unfinished thought.

Jared glanced among the renegade pack. "It would be easier to talk if I could hear you, too."

Jake simply stared him down until he sighed. "Okay. I guess I'll just talk then." he started awkwardly. "Jake, we want you to come home."

Quil whined softly, pawing at the ground with one front paw.

"You've torn our family apart. It's not meant to be this way. We know you feel…strongly about this situation, but this is an overreaction."

Seth growled, his muscles tensing against Kori's shoulder. _"Overreaction? And attacking our allies _isn't_?"_

_ "Seth, ever heard of a poker face? Cool it."_

_ "Sorry."_

Jared glanced at Seth before looking back at Jake. "Sam calmed down after you left and talked to the Elders. They've decided immediate action is in no one's best interest at this point."

Leah snorted. _"Translation: They've lost the element of surprise."_

"Sue and Billy agree that we can wait for Bella…to be separated from the issue. None of us are comfortable with the idea of killing her."

Jake snarled. _"So they don't _feel comfortable _with murder, huh?"_

Jared raised his hands as a sign of peace. "Easy Jake. You know what I mean. We've decided we'll wait a bit, reassess everything, and decide later if there's a problem with the…thing."

Kori couldn't help it. She snarled at his choice of words. Thing. Fetus. Demon spawn. Monster. Why couldn't anyone just call it what it is? A baby!

Jake's head snapped around and he snarled at Kori, making her crouch and look at the ground. Jared and the others watched in tense confusion, not knowing what was being said or thought by the renegade pack.

_ "If that's how you feel, why don't you start your own pack?" _Jake snarled coldly.

_ "I'm sorry, okay! It was instinct!"_ Kori whimpered, her belly in the mud.

"Jake?" Jared asked.

Jake sighed.

_ "Leah, Kori, make a circuit."_

_ "Give me a break, Jacob. Just phase. Despite my best efforts, I've seen you naked. Doesn't do much for me."_

_ "And I used to take baths with you when we were little. It's nothing I haven't seen before." _Kori added, trying to lighten the mood as she stood up again.

Seth and Leah snorted in laughter while Jake glared at his little sister.

_ "Leah."_

_ "Fine."_ Leah turned and bolted into the trees, leaving the others behind.

Jared and the others watched the bushes she'd disappeared into with wary expressions.

"Where's she going?" Jared asked. By the time he looked back Jake was in his human form. Kori pointedly looked away from her brother. "Oh, hi Jake."

"Hey, Jared."

"Thanks for talking to me."

"Yeah."

"We want you to come home, man."

Quil whined again.

"It's not that easy, Jare."

"Come home." he pleaded, "You don't belong here. Let Kori, Seth, and Leah come home, too."

"Believe me, I've been begging them to do that from the beginning."

Jared thought silently for a moment. "So, what now, then?"

Jake was quiet as he thought it over. "I'm not sure, but I don't think things can go back to normal, Jared. It doesn't feel like I can turn this Alpha thing on and off when it suits me."

"You still belong with us."

"Two Alphas can't be in the same place, Jared. Too competitive."

"So you're just going to hang out with the parasites for the rest of your lives?!"

"I guess we'll just see how things go."

Jared narrowed his eyes before turning to Seth.

"Sue asked me to tell you-no to _beg_ you- to come home. She's broken, Seth. Alone. I can't believe you and Leah are doing this to her, just barely when your dad died-"

Seth whimpered and Kori instinctively stepped in front of him, snarling a warning at Jared before turning and brushing her nose against the top of Seth's head.

_ "He's right."_ Seth whimpered.

_ "Seth, ignore him. My dad, Sam, and Old Quil are with her. She's fine. Everything will work out."_

Seth didn't answer, just buried his face in the fur of Kori's neck.

Jared examined the two for a moment. "What about you, Kori?"

Kori's ears went flat to her head, knowing what he was doing.

"How can you just abandon your dad, who's confined to a wheelchair, and your sister? You hate Bella! Everyone knows that!"

"Rach and Paul can take care of him." Jake pointed out quietly, feeling guilty for leaving their father the way they did.

Jared glanced at Paul before looking back at Kori, ignoring Jake for the moment.

"Paul's going to kill me for telling you this, but him and Rachel aren't exactly on good terms right now. He's been sleeping outside your house in wolf form 'cause Rachel's mad at him for all this."

Kori glanced at Paul, who was glaring at Jared's back.

"Jared, lay off." Jake ordered, taking a step forward. "Playing off their emotions like that is out of line. 'Course, you two are free to go if you want. You know that." he added, looking back at the younger wolves.

Seth and Kori both snorted. They weren't going anywhere.

The bushes rustled before Leah slid into view, taking the point in front of Seth.

"Leah?" Jared asked.

When she met his gaze her lips pulled back over her teeth.

"Leah, you know you don't want to be here."

Leah snarled at him, _"You don't know what I want."_ even though he couldn't hear her thoughts.

Seth nudged her with his shoulder. _"Calm down, Lee."_

"Sorry, guess I shouldn't assume. But you have no ties to the bloodsuckers."

Leah kept her mind blank as she pointedly looked at Seth, then Kori, and finally Jake. What was that about?

"Alright, so you want to look out for Seth, I get that. But Jake and Kori would never let anything happen to him. You know that. He wants to be here." Jared grimaced slightly. "Anyway, _please_ Leah. We want you back. Sam wants you back."

Leah flinched and Kori stepped forward in case she needed to hold her pack sister from going for Jared's throat.

"Sam asked me to beg you. Like, literally get down on my knees and beg you to come back. He wants you home, Lee-Lee," Leah flinched at the old nickname Sam gave her, "where you belong."

Leah's hackles rose when Jared finished his sentence.

_ "You stupid, damn, son of a-"_

Kori flattened her ears against the string of profanities Leah was letting out, though it did no good. It was in her head. She also seemed to be snarling the words as well, so Jake and Jared had no trouble guessing what she was saying.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Leah belongs wherever she wants to."

Leah growled in agreement. _"Damn straight."_

"Look, Jared, we're still family, okay? We'll get past this feud, but until we do you might want to stick to your own land. Sam wouldn't want a family brawl, right?"

"Of course not!" Jared snapped. "We'll stick to our land, but where's _your _land, Jacob? Vampire land?"

"Nope, homeless for now. But this won't last forever. There's not much time left, okay? Then the Cullens will probably leave; and Seth, Kori, and Leah will come home."

The three wolves named whined, turning to look up at their Alpha.

"What about you?" Jared asked quietly.

"Probably head back to the forest. Can't really stay here. Two Alphas means tension. Besides, I was heading that way before this mess started."

"What if we need to talk?"

"Howl, but stay at the line, alright? We'll come to you. And tell Sam he doesn't need to send so many. We're not looking for a fight."

Jared scowled as he nodded, probably not liking that Jake was setting the conditions instead of Sam.

"I'll let him know. Bye Jake."

"Yeah, bye Jared. Hey, tell my dad that Kori and I are okay, will you? And that we're sorry and that we love him. Same with Rach."

Kori yelped in agreement, feeling Seth nudge her with his head.

"I'll pass that along."

"Thanks."

"Lets go, guys." Jared turned to head into the bushes to phase.

The other three hesitated and Kori met eyes with Collin. She glanced at Jake, who was talking to wolf-Quil.

She hesitantly crossed the clearing to meet up with her cousin. Collin whined and bumped his head against hers. Kori pulled back a little and nuzzled his head with her nose before looking over at Paul a few steps away. His massive head was held high and he was looking into the distance, but she could see him watching her out of the corner of his eye.

She took a couple hesitant steps until she was right in front of him, scanning his face in an attempt to see what he was feeling.

Slowly, nervously, Kori stretched her neck up and nuzzled her face in the thick, silver fur of Paul's neck; breathing in the warm, woodsy, familiar scent.

She heard a sigh just above her head before Paul lowered his head to rub his chin along her back, a wolf version of a hug.

Kori whimpered quietly as a couple tears ran down her cheeks, wetting her fur. A low rumbling came from Paul's chest, right where Kori's ear was. Not a growl, more of a purr.

A loud, commanding bark in the bushes caused Collin, Paul, and Quil to look over into the distance.

Kori stepped away and looked up, meeting Paul's eyes. He was angry, frustrated, and scared. He didn't want to fight her any more than she wanted to fight him.

Another bark, more impatient than the first, sounded loudly from the bushes. Jared clearly wanted to get going.

Paul growled in frustration before he leapt away into the bushes, followed closely by Collin and Quil.

_ "Was that okay?"_ Kori turned around to see Jake had phased back to wolf form and was glancing anxiously between the other three pack members. _"Did I say everything right?"_

_ "You did great!"_ Seth urged.

Jake sighed in relief. _"Alright; Seth, Kori, you two mind making a few rounds while Leah and I crash for a bit?"_

_ "Sure!"_ they both agreed happily before bolting through the trees. Jake and Leah shook their heads at the two hyper pups.

_ "Kori got dropped on her head a lot when she was little."_ Jake explained.

_ "Seth too. And he used to chew on the crib bars, too."_

_ "Lead paint?"_

_ "Looks like it."_

_ "Real funny guys."_ Kori snorted.

Seth agreed. _"Just shut up and sleep."_


End file.
